other dances

I'm a dancing fiend and have been in the DR for a month already. I have danced merengue and salsa, and that's fun. But I wonder where I can dance other rythms. Actually, where can you dance cha cha cha in Santo Domingo? Any spot where to dance swing or rock'n roll? My passion is Argentine tango and after a month I feel tango-deprived, but I have no hope of finding where to dance it here.

Please, don't respond things like "if you don't like merengue go somewhere else" or other aggressions. I know this board is full of people with short tempers. I just reached my merengue quota and am respectfully asking if I can dance other things. Thanks in advance.

You haven't danced the "Bachata" yet? I love that rythm.

Santo Domingo is also one of the best places in the world to dance to Cuban Son, which is hugely popular and has been for a long time. THe best dance clubs for son are Vieja Havana on Maximo Gomez north of the bridge, Monumento Del Son on Av Charles de Gaulle in Barrio Sabana Perdida, and Mauna Loa on the Malecon just west of the Centro de los Heroes. THere's another great old time son hall, but its in Borojol, which is an extremely dangerous neighbourhood.

D.o any of you DR1 friends knows what is bachata and were it come from?. I figure I could permit myself the luxury of telling you folks what Bachata is all about,.I is a rithm that was born long time ago plays like a bolero but a bit more informal the main instrument is the guitar and is the expression of the lirics of a man that is carriying lots of sorrows normally by being betrayed by his love one. It was originally played a lot in a radio station called Radio Guarachita and it main audience were the campesinos and uneducated Dominicans.It was danced in the very poor barrios listen to in the street corners old Velloneras and danced by the hookers and the poor army privates. Educated high class dominicans used to look down on that type of music until Juan Luis Guerra. a Cantautor from the east coast made famous his Bachata Rosa" bringuin the bachata to a high Status. hope to be informativeto you folks thanks.

I love Bachata also, and actually its pretty easy to find in the larger music stores in Columbus, Ohio so I imagine the rest of the USA as well. I would encourage anyone to buy some compilations if they are not already familiar with it.

One place to start would be www.latinmusica.com

In Montreal, Canada you can buy bachata c.d. and a lot of latin music c.d. at Caraballo Disco, 7086A St-Laurent. Tel.: (514) 272-6844. The owner is dominicano.