bachata

[bah-chah-tah]

noun

1. a contemporary genre of Latin American popular music, in the style of a ballad, featuring guitars, percussion, and singing.

   On Thursdays, they have a band that plays nothing but bachata.

2. a song performed in the musical style of bachata.

   The lyrics to this bachata are from a traditional hymn.

3. a partnered dance of Dominican origin, performed to the music of bachata, traditionally danced in eight-count box steps with a sequence of three steps and a tap, with modern variations that include steps from other Latin ballroom dances.

   Part of the ballroom competition is a six-minute bachata.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bachata¹

First recorded in 1955–60; from Caribbean Spanish; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Yet by the 2010s it was apparent that another genre was taking hold of the Latin dance scene: bachata, ushered in by smooth-singing New York stars like Prince Royce and Romeo Santos.

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“Salsa just wasn’t as popular anymore, and people would walk over to the other side of the restaurant to take the bachata lessons.”

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“Tumbos” is a warbling electronic love song intercepted at times by plinking bachata strings.

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To your point about movement, there’s so much of it here: bachata, cumbia, electronic music … so much to dance to.

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The record opens with the synthy bachata “Superdeli” and “Wacha, Checa,” which features a guitar riff straight out of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ catalog — two songs in which the singer implores a romantic partner to live in the moment.

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