Playlist For A Night of Merengue Madness

In the world of Dominican music, bachata has been slowly overtaking merengue in sheer popularity. But on the international dance floor, merengue is still king (or queen?) with its upbeat tempo and irrepressible rhythm.

But putting together a playlist for a merengue dance party caused me to stop and think. The tempo of modern merengue has been getting faster and faster every year - so much so that I wondered if dancing to all 10 of my original picks could cause medical problems.

Dehydration from sweating too much? Possible. Shin splints? Nah - there's not much hopping up and down with merengue. Acting like Elvis Crespo? Well, it is a night of merengue 'madness.' Exhaustion? Maybe, but you can fake it by moving your hips a lot and your feet a little. (I know this for a fact.)

So I just changed out some of the tracks to slower, older-style merengue to even out the mix and because I thought that partners might like to have enough breath to talk on the dance floor for a couple of the numbers.

But hey, maybe I was wrong. Conversations can be dangerous. Dancing the merengue is pretty harmless as long as you stick to your designated partner!