A track comes on and you’re not sure: is it salsa or merengue? Do you dance close or do you jump? Here are the landmarks to recognise the seven rhythms you’ll hear at EPICO parties. The tempos are ballpark figures: every song has its own.

Salsa — fast, brassy and built on the clave

  • Tempo: roughly 150 to 220 BPM.
  • Origins: Cuban son, reinvented in New York in the 1960s and 70s, then in Cali and Puerto Rico.
  • What you hear: powerful horns, a piano repeating a pattern (the montuno), congas and timbales.
  • On the floor: danced in pairs, on an eight-count, with spins and turn patterns.

Bachata — the crying guitar

  • Tempo: roughly 120 to 140 BPM.
  • Origins: the Dominican Republic.
  • What you hear: a high, melodic guitar (the requinto), bongos and the metallic güira.
  • On the floor: three steps and a hip tap on the fourth beat. Perfect for beginners.

Merengue — marching energy

  • Tempo: roughly 120 to 160 BPM.
  • Origins: the Dominican Republic.
  • What you hear: the tambora and güira hammering every beat, often with an accordion.
  • On the floor: you “march” on the spot while swaying your hips. The easiest of them all.

Cumbia — the sway of the roots

  • Tempo: roughly 85 to 100 BPM.
  • Origins: Colombia’s Caribbean coast, then all of Latin America.
  • What you hear: the scraping guacharaca, rolling percussion, sometimes flutes or an accordion.
  • On the floor: a step back, a step in place, and turning in a circle.

Kizomba — slow and connected

  • Tempo: roughly 80 to 100 BPM.
  • Origins: 1980s Angola, somewhere between semba and zouk.
  • What you hear: round basslines and a slow, sensual groove.
  • On the floor: very close to your partner, walking, with lots of connection.

Reggaeton — the dembow that makes heads nod

  • Tempo: roughly 88 to 100 BPM.
  • Origins: Panama and Puerto Rico, in the 1990s.
  • What you hear: the famous “boom-ch-boom-chick” drum pattern, the dembow.
  • On the floor: solo or in a group, perreo style, singing every chorus.

Dembow — the fast-forward version

  • Tempo: roughly 110 to 130 BPM.
  • Origins: the Dominican Republic, in the 2000s.
  • What you hear: a repetitive beat, faster and rawer than reggaeton.
  • On the floor: jump, let go, stop thinking.

The ultimate test

Listen to the drums. If they go “boom-ch-boom-chick”, it’s reggaeton or dembow. If the guitar leads, it’s bachata. If the horns explode, it’s salsa. To practise, come to a Salsa & Bachata Night or a Reggaeton Takeover.