\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIn recent years, merengue has become Latin pop\u2019s secret weapon. The Dominican Republic<\/a>\u2019s signature gallop has crept into global smashes from Bad Bunny<\/a> and Karol G<\/a>, heralding a revival of the genre\u2019s swinging Eighties and Nineties heyday (though rarely crediting its century-old campesino roots.) <\/p>\n \n\tAdmittedly, the house that merengue built fell into disrepair in the new millennium, due to stubborn gatekeeping from industry stalwarts, as well as a zeitgeist pivot towards dembow and urbano trends. But that\u2019s not to say merengue vanished from the Dominican lexicon; a resurgence of accordion-led t\u00edpico<\/em><\/a> <\/em>launched glossy stars El Rubio Arcorde\u00f3n, El Blachy, and Urbanda, while cheeky dembow crossovers produced viral hits for Nelly Swing<\/a> and Chimbala<\/a>. At an indie level, merengue also proved pliable, merging with metal and industrial riffs in psychedelic epics from Gallo Lester<\/a> and Mediopicky<\/a>, and providing a sinewy canvas for the poetic soul-searching of Rita Indiana<\/a> and Xiomara Fortuna<\/a>. <\/p>\n