Rubén

One of the earliest examples of recorded merengue from the Dominican Republic, "Rubén" does sound like it is influenced by danzón. A chapter in Creolizing Contradance in the Caribbean suggests that modern Dominican merengue as we known it was influenced by the danzón-like music of the same name in 19th century Puerto Rico and Cuba but gradually adopted new rhythmic, lyrical, and aesthetic features in the Cibao region. Thus, the merengue as we know it was born in the late 19th century. This recording, which features some merengue-like features, also points do the earlier influence of creolized contradance. In that regard, it almost kinda sounds like Haitian méringue.