When I was younger, I really loved to dance. It was something that brought me lots of joy and it was a form of letting out all of my energy as a child. Some genres of music I loved to dance to would be Merengue and Bachata. Merengue is a type of dance along with a Dominican genre of music that originated in Africa but over time made its way to the caribbean countries, mainly the Dominican Republic. When talking about the music, it usually involves instruments like accordions, a guira (a metal scraper), a tambora (two-sided drum), and a guitar. Merengue is a more upbeat genre of music that a lot of Dominican people love.  You can tell that they’re dancing merengue because it’s more upbeat and more energetic compared to Bachata. Bachata is another traditional Dominican dance that’s very popular not only in D.R, but in other Hispanic/Latin countries. It is also a two person dance but it’s much slower. Bachata is like if you were to take salsa and turn it into a slower dance. The Instruments often heard in Bachata are mostly guitars, bongos, and a guira. Bachata and Merengue are both very important to us because it’s how we as Dominicans express ourselves and share our culture within the latinx community. It’s one of the many things that  make us proud to be who we are. I chose to write about this because merengue and bachata are genres of music that I grew up listening to and watched other people dance to. It’s always stuck with me even since I was a toddler and it’s not something I ever want to forget. My Dominican heritage is something I’m very proud of :) 

– Camila Beato-Hernandez

Relationship:  Im/migrant Im/migrant