Eggbeater and Ripped Parrots: Merengue!

Merengue is the Spanish word for meringue, and there are theories that the dance got its name because of the circular, rapid motion of dancers around the dance floor, that resembles an eggbeater making its rounds in a bowl of egg white. Other speculations include the myth that a famous war hero invited to a dance was forced to step this way because of his war injuries, and other dancers followed his example either out of politeness, or because they thought this was the "new" way to dance. Merengue is the national dance of the Dominican Republic, where merengue tipico (typical merengue) is often called perico ripiao, which literally means: ripped parrot, and it is believed that this style, with its often highly sexualized movements originated in a bordello, by the same name. Why would a bordello be called the Ripped Parrot, I don't know, and don't dare to even contemplate.

If Marijuana is the gateway to hard drug addictions, Merengue is the "Weed" of Latin Dances: Most of us who were not born in Latin America were introduced to and got addicted to  Latin Dancing by learning Merengue first, perhaps because its simplified version, "one-two, one-two, left-right, left-right" is easy to learn. In fact, I always tell to students, and heard other instructors do the same, that "if you can walk, you can dance merengue". Students eventually learn to twist and turn each other into quite intricate patterns and pretzel like contractions, but for a lot of dancers even at the more advanced level, the foot work and rhythm remains rather uncomplicated.

Like most dances of Latin America,  the styles of Merengue danced from region to region, from bario to bario, from one family to the next are diverse, unique and highly personal. There are many "subtipes", either origins or derivatives of Merengue: from the Dominican bottle dance to Merengue Parease, (Parean Merengue) danced in Brazil, to Merengue Ripiao, which is very closely related to Punta and Reggeaton dances. Merengue is very popular in both Latin, Central and North America, in fact, at times Merengue is even more popular than Salsa on the airways.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with sticking to the basics, but for the more adventurous,  here is a sample of different merengue music and dance styles:

Haitian Merengue:



Merengue Paerese (Parean Merengue from Brazil)





This video is a tribute to Merengue: Viva El Merengue featuring the best, most well known singers of the genre:






Michael Jackson's Billie Jean Merengue Remix



And Carrie, the Merengue dancing dog!




Here is Dominican Merengue dancing on a bottle:




And here is Perico Ripiao as it is played and danced on a balcony somewhere in the Dominican Republic

Celebrate Central American Independence Day

September 15th marks Independence Day for Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala, and Mexico celebrates its bicentennial on September 16th, 2010.  

Celebrate Central American Independence on September 17th at the Hungarian Cultural Center, 728 Kingsway in Vancouver with the best of authentic Latin Music (Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, Bachata, Boogaloo, Pachanga, Vallenato, and more) Latin Food, and Fiesta at the  first ever Noche Caleña: Cali Night In Vancouver

DJ Jose "Tutuy" De Cali, Colombia Presents:

El Palacio De La Musica Latina

THE NEWEST AND VERY BEST OF LATIN MUSIC

Salsa

Bachata

Mambo

Cumbia

Meringue

Pachanga

Boogaloo

Tropical

Crossover

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH, 2010

8PM to 2AM

Cover: $10.00 Two for One Before 10PM

Show a piece of I.D. (passport, birth certificate, cultural association membership, driver's licence, etc) from Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, or Guatemala, and enjoy two for one cover all night long at this event only!

Have your cake and eat it too! There will be a cake presented for each country at midnight, as well as re-enactment of "El Grito" to honor Mexican and Central American Independence.

See you at the Palace!