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Pachanga is a genre of music with an accompanying signature style of dance that originated in Cuba in the 1950s and played an important role in the evolution of Caribbean style music as we know it today. Considered a prominent contributor to the eventual rise of Salsa, Pachanga itself is an offshoot of Charanga style music. Very similar in sound to Cha-Cha but with a notably stronger down-beat, Pachanga once experienced massive popularity all over the Caribbean. Pachanga also experienced a surge of popularity in the U.S. when it was brought overseas with cuban immigrants in the late 1940s to early 1950s. This led to an explosion of Pachanga music in cuban music clubs that influenced Latin culture in the city for decades to come.

Dance Style
Pachanga dance today is mainly seen incorporated into salsa shines or footwork. “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. The term shine originates from young African American shoe shiners who would dance for money. Although it is not a very popular social dance, many professional salsa dancers incorporate pachanga movements into their choreography, especially in mambo or salsa on-2 routines. Pachanga is taught all over the world at different salsa events and congresses. As technology increases and economies and societies become increasingly global, the crossover of different cultures becomes easier, including the blending of different dance styles from all over. People worldwide can learn dances such as pachanga, as well as incorporate its movements into styles with which they are already familiar.

Popular Pachanga instructors include the “Mambo King” Eddie Torres, his son Eddie Torres Jr., and his former partner Shani Talmor. A basic pachanga step consists of a bending and straightening of the knees. As in other Latin styles, body movement follows the footwork due to weight changes. The shift in weight from one foot to the other gives the illusion of gliding, similar to a moonwalk.

History of Pachanga in the U.S.
The development of the style of music that came to be known as Salsa in the U.S. in the late 1960s relied heavily on the latin music scene in New York city and more specifically the South Bronx. In the post World War Two era, New York city experienced a surge of cuban immigration. During this time Cuba experience 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. As a result tens of thousands of cubans migrated to the U.S. hoping to find greater economic opportunities and more civil liberties and established sizeable communities in New Orleans, Tampa, and New York City.

At the time the south bronx had large developments of affordable public housing where many Cubans and other caribbean ended up finding a place to call home. In addition to housing the south bronx also offered a strong infrastructure for the growth of culturally rich community. The cuban communities that formed brought with them their own art and culture and in particular they brought with them cuban music and dance. The caribbean music scene in New York exploded along with the rise of caribbean ballrooms, clubs and dance halls. These establishments featured all the popular caribbean music of the era, beginning with the mambo. The mambo grew in popularity at an alarming rate sparking “mambo mania” throughout the U.S. to the point that even mainstream musicians such as Rosemary Clooney and Perry Como were incorporating the sounds of mamba into their pop music. The mambo then evolved into the Cha-Cha and eventually evolved into the Pachanga, both of which followed in the footsteps of the mambo by matching it in explosive popularity.

Two clubs in particular that are inextricably linked with Pachangas development and popularity are the Triton After-Hours Club and the Caravana Club. at the Triton Club Johnny Pacheco improvised a dance move known as the “Bronx Hop” which later became a major part of the Pachanga dance fad. The Bronx’s Caravana Club on the other hand is commonly thought of as the home of Pachanga. Opened in the summer of 1959, the Caravana Club instantly became a major hub for the latin music scene in New York by presenting major bands every week. The clubs popularity truly rose after the live recording of Charlie Palmieri’s “Pachanga at the Caravana” in 1961 which cemented its reputation as the home of Pachanga. A group of patrons at the Caravana Club even formed a dance group named “Los Pachangueros” that performed across the city. At this time a Pachanga dance craze had also struck the city with such popularity that countless articles about it made their way into publications including “the New York Times”, “Ballroom Dance Magazine” and “El Diario”.