[1][2] Performers on the güira are referred to as güireros and in merengue típico ensembles they often co-lead percussion sections along with tambora-playing tamboreros, due to the significance of their African-derived interlocking rhythms in providing a basic musical foundation for dance.

The güira is most often found in merengue típico where it serves as one of multiple percussion instruments, most usually interlocking with the rhythm of the tambora, a fairly small horizontally mounted rustic drum normally played with one stick and one bare hand.

One commercial variant commonly called a torpedo is fully enclosed with tapered ends and is supplied with mineral or glass beads or metal shot inside to double as a shaker.

Another key aspect of the güira is how much the (external) playing surface is (mostly internally, although flexibly using the holding hand and/or stuffing some light filler like felt or foam/fiber/excelsior inside) "dampened" (muted).

According to Francisco Javier Durán García, New York City based instrument maker, the traditional art of güira making involves a tree stump, hammer, nail, metal tube, and wood block.

[3] The instrument is hand fashioned from sheet metal into a (roughly 13") long cylindrical tube along with repeatedly-dimpled (not fully perforated) tubular (exterior) surface.