The core sound of bachata comes from a lead guitar playing a melody with a gentle, repeating bass note underneath. A second guitar, called the requinto, adds decoration — little runs and fills between the phrases. A bongo drum keeps the rhythm, and maracas add a soft shaker sound.
Bachata dancing is slower and closer than merengue. Partners take three small steps to the side and then pause with a hip movement — step, step, step, hip — and then back the other way. It looks elegant and feels natural once you learn the basic pattern.
For many decades bachata was considered informal countryside music and was not played on mainstream radio in the Dominican Republic. Then in the 1990s, singers like Juan Luis Guerra made it popular worldwide. Today it is played in dance studios and concerts in over 100 countries.
UNESCO added bachata to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2019 — just three years after merengue received the same recognition — cementing the Dominican Republic's place as one of the world's great music cultures.