Social dance styles

 Bachata is a genre of Latin American music that originated in the Dominican Republic in the first half of the 20th century. It is a fusion of southwestern European influences, mainly Spanish guitar music, with some remnants of indigenous Taino and Sub Saharan African musical elements, representative of the cultural diversity of the Dominican population 

 Created in the South Bronx, New York among Puerto Rican teens it was originally done at house parties, hooky gigs and basements club dances in the South Bronx. It became known as Spanish hustle; from 1975 to 1976, funk band the Fatback Band made a song with that name. 

 Merengue has existed since the early years of the Dominican Republic (in Haiti, a similar dance is called the Meringue or Mereng). It is possible the dance took its name from the confection made of sugar and egg whites because of the light and frothy character of the dance or because of its short, precise rhythms. 

 Salsa originated in the 1900s in Cuba, where rhythms from the two main existing styles of music in the region (Cuban Son and Afro-Cuban rumba) were combined to create a new dance. This new rhythm was combined with American jazz and taken to New York by Cuban musicians.