Pachanga

Pachanga is a genre of music which is described as a mixture of son montuno and merengue and has an accompanying signature style of dance.

Considered a prominent contributor to the eventual rise of salsa, Pachanga itself is an offshoot music played by charangas.

Very similar in sound to Cha-Cha but with a notably stronger down-beat, Pachanga once experienced massive popularity all across the Caribbean and was brought to the United States by Cuban immigrants post World War II.

Eduardo Davidson's tune, "La Pachanga", with rights managed by Peer International (BMI), achieved international recognition in 1961 when it was licensed in three versions sung by Genie Pace on Capitol, by Audrey Arno in a German version on European Decca, and by Hugo and Luigi and their children's chorus.

Billboard commented "A bright new dance craze from the Latins has resulted in these three good recordings, all with interesting and varying treatments.

It is danced on the downbeat of four-four time to the usual mambo offbeat music characterized by the charanga instrumentation of flutes, violins, and drums.

“Shines” can refer either to a performance by a group of solo men or women without a partner, or a pause in partnerwork for each dancer to show off before coming back together.

During this time Cuba underwent several economic and social crises including the destabilization of international tobacco and sugar markets and civil upheavals that further disrupted the already fragile Cuban republic.

[6] As a result, tens of thousands of Cubans migrated to the U.S. hoping to find greater economic opportunities and more civil liberties, establishing sizeable communities in New Orleans, Tampa, and New York City.

[6] At the time, the South Bronx had large developments of affordable public housing where many Cubans and other Caribbean immigrants ended up finding a place to call home.