merengue - examples of the different kinds?

RE: Merengue Music-

Roo-

When it comes to Latin music there are three principal genres I listen to which include salsa, merengue and bachata. I also enjoy cumbia and vallenato but listen to those genres periodically although I have quite a sizeable collection of classic Colombian music.

I think it?s wonderful that you are inquiring about merengue and that you are interested in finding out more about the various styles rather than focusing on the pop or street versions of genre that has become popular to a certain degree although I will probably never enjoy those styles of merengue.

In very broad terms the "older the better" and merengue of the eighties is very popular among many. IMO the best merengue is Dominican and credit should be given to artists who made the genre an international rhythm for people of different cultural backgrounds.

Instead of imposing my personal preferences on you I would like you to sample the broad array of merengue music both old and new and you can draw your own conclusions. I like to dance merengue and especially the classic rhythms and have a hard time relating to some of the modern day fast paced, "noisy" sounding merengue that has become somewhat popular over the past few years.

My recommended list of artists to sample (in no specific order):

1/ Juan Luis Guerra- Greatest Hits album. Wonderful to listen to and a gem to dance to!

2/ Fernandito Villalona- romantic merengue at its best. He has some really good music in his collection if you know what to sample. I recommend the following albums- El ni?o mimado, Confundido, Soy un hombre feliz (my favourite FV album) and Mal acostumbrado (I just listened this album 2 weeks ago after a long absence. What a treat. The rhythm is classic!)

3/ Alex Bueno- he is a versatile cross over artist. His merengue is quite good. I recommend that you sample songs from his album S?lo merengue. Once again classic beat and tempo. He does not have a big merengue collection.

4/ Los Toros Band- no need to comment here. Just listen to any Toros Band album produced in the last five years and you will understand what I am saying. They have also a wonderful tribute album to the roots of merengue called Ra?ces. I highly recommend it if you want sample some merengue that?s not heard today otherwise two of my favourite albums are: Pa? la calle and Toroman?a.

5/ Los Hermanos Rosario- they have a LONG music history that?s commendable IMO. I recommend that you sample their 20th anniversary album. It has a beautiful mix of the old and new. For merengue lovers it brings wonderful memories. Some classic songs on that album include: Ya viene el lunes (caramba), El desdichado, Compr?ndeme etc.

-There are more groups of course old and new but when asked these are usually the five that I give to start off with and then you can take it from there. Others may contribute so the door is left open.

Enjoy!

-LDG.

I am not aware of 5 different types of Merengue music. So I will follow this thread.

I know:

Merengue Tipico - has a long history and is generally quite fast. Often has the accordion, tamboras and the cheese grater (can't remember what that instrument is called. This music can be quite "screechy" a la Fefita La Grande, not so with El Prodigio.

Merengue Clasico - also a long history - tends to be more moderately paced, is probably my favourite. Not "screechy at all, smoother.

Merengue de Mambo - I think that is what it is called. Seems to be pretty recent, faster then Clasico but more modern then tipico. at times almost crosses over into other genres.

Those are the ones I know and dance to as often as possible.

La Guira = The cheese grater!



hasta la tambora!

Re: merengueros con't-

Just a to add two more names to the list:

6/ Rubby P?rez- a popular romantic merengue artist with a successful career especially over the last 5-7 years. He has a few good albums worth sampling which include Volando Alto, Vuelve el merengue, El cantante, Tonto coraz?n.

7/ Eddy Herrera- strong voice, beautiful classic merengue rhythm. He slowly build a reputable career for himself. He has a few good albums worth sampling as well as his latest release.

BTW- In terms of styles of merengue there are many and depending on who is doing the classification there can be more than five but for the sake of categorizing some styles include: classic merengue or traditional merengue, romantic merengue, merengue mambo (some may also classify this as "merengue de calle"), merengue t?pico. Guitar merengue is a category that has emerged and some of the older pambiches are still heard. It just really depends on how the classification is done.


-LDG.