In it`s traditional form, merengue is played on accordeon, saxophone, box bass with metal plucked keys, a guayano (a metal scraper -transformed from a kitchen implement), and a two ended tambora drum, struck with hand and stick. It's rural music with close affinities to Haitian méringue - though the latter, sung in Creole, tends to have a slower, more nostalgic sound, based on guitar rather than accordeon. In the Dominican Republic, merengue experienced something of a golden age during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo, who held power from the 1930s until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo was from peasent roots and he promoted the music as a symbol of national expression and the culture of the former underclass. He constrained its traditional role as a music of social commentary but provided a forum for the musicians in the dancehalls........... READ MORE