History
Bachata originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. It started with European, Indigenous and African elements. In the beginning, the genre was named amargue, meaning bitter in Spanish. Later on, the it was changed to bachata. The first official bachata is credited to a man named José Manuel Colderón in 1961. The bachatas recorded at that time were regarded as a variation of another latin music genre: bolero. The bachata of the 60s did not have a warm welcome. Just like hip hop when it first came out and because of this disdain for the genre the radios station did not play them on their air waves. But just like hip hop, it had its following and it slowly continued to gain popularity. In the 1980s bachata became so popular that radio stations started to play them. And in the 1990 a group named Aventura revolutionized and modernized the genre. Now, bachata, just like salsa, is heard world wide. Bachata is normally always played along with salsa in dance socials. There are even “bachata nights” where the genre is heard 80-90% of the time. Bachata also has its own dance festivals events that are done all over the world.
Music:
Modern bachata song sung by Aventura’s former lead singer.
Bachata danced by two instructors in a festival.