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This story is part of our Sondio Latino series for Hispanic Heritage Month.
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IF THE STACCATO gallop of Dominican tambora seems especially prevalent lately, it might be because merengue is having a moment. In June, Karol G released “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido,” which is now vying for song-of-the-summer status. The effervescent smash joins other genre hits, like Bad Bunny’s beachy mambo “Después de la Playa” and Rosalía’s upbeat chart-topper “Despechá” as an example of merengue’s modern crossover upswing. However, these hits are sonically and geographically distant from the genre’s roots in the rural Cibao region of the Dominican Republic, where the sound’s bare-knuckle form, merengue típico, has reigned for more than a century.
Some of merengue típico’s leading figures are still around: Fefita La Grande is an 81-year-old iconic accordionist whose career began in the 1970s under the tutelage of accordion masters Tatico Henríquez and El Ciego de Nagua. ““I’m a proud campesina. You don’t study [merengue típico],” she’s said in the past. “True típico of accordion, güira, and tambora, you can only learn by ear.”
While the OGs uphold tradition, roots-driven genres like merengue and bachata have fallen out of favor with young Dominicans in the new millennium — with notable exceptions in diaspora heroes Romeo Santos and Prince Royce. However, emerging artists have rejuvenated the canon, often looking to electrified acts like Proyecto Uno and Omega for inspiration. The hybridized sound has also popped up in the deconstructed, electronic-driven experiments of producer Mediopicky, and futuristic albums from visionary trio Mula.
“By pushing the boundaries with merengue, I want my people to experience the familiarity of our roots,” says Santo Domingo pop singer Letón Pé. In 2023, she unveiled her EP Rojo Rubí, dipping into merengue on “Tengo Miedo” with gravelly voiced singer Calacote, and “Bailo Pa’ Mí” with Spanish-born breakout Ana Mancebo.
“Sometimes, things that are so visible or omnipresent, like merengue in this case, are taken for granted,” Pé says. “It wasn’t until my latest EP that I wanted to create in a way that honored my perspective as someone who has lived their entire life in Santo Domingo. So the question was, ‘Why not?’ Why not make something that carries the weight of tradition but in a way that is more blended with the other elements that define my music?”
But more unvarnished versions of merengue típico have made their comeback, too, largely reinvigorated by the advent of dembow, the hyperfast rhythm and the Dominican Republic’s most reliable musical export as of late. In 2023, merengue típico performer Nelly Swing covered the dembow track “Como El Perro Bebe Agua,” which went immensely viral thanks to uproarious allusions to cunnilingus. This intersection of tradition and cheeky urbano codes has also positioned El Blachy, Urbanda, and most notably El Rubio Acordeón at the vanguard of a new típico golden age.
“I brought that urbano flow into merengue with the hats and the sneakers and it worked,” says El Rubio Acordión, shouting out influential predecessors like El Prodigio and Lupe Valerio. “Young people and urbano artists have been very supportive of música típica, and now we’re reaching a lot more people.”
