guaracha

American  

[gwuh-rah-chuh, gwah-rah-chah] / gwəˈrɑ tʃə, gwɑˈrɑ tʃɑ /

noun

plural

guarachas

1. a vigorous Cuban dance in triple meter.

2. the music for this dance.

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Etymology

Origin of guaracha

1820–30; < Spanish, equivalent to Old Spanish guar place + hacha a kind of dance

Example Sentences

However, he was not too fond of the emerging term, which seemed to cram different styles like mambo, charanga, rumba, guaracha and danzón into one single category.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025

She said “Pepas” exploded in popularity not because it’s about drugs but because it has a unique sound blending electronic dance music with guaracha, a popular Cuban music style.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2022

In a career that spanned six decades, he stitched together overlapping genres like rock, jazz and R&B and various Cuban genres like rumba, son and guaracha through intimate, soulful knowledge of both musical traditions.

From New York Times • Aug. 24, 2021

A century later, the guaracha became a Cuban dance, and you’ve surely heard its influence in popular Cuban music.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 3, 2020

She dances for days to her Beny More records, her hands in position for an impossibly lanky partner, to “Rebel Heart,” her slippers scraping the floor, to “Treat Me As I Am,” a buoyant guaracha.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García