Two prevalent stories circulate about merengue's roots. The first is that African slaves had to drag one foot behind them to cut sugar cane in rhythm with the drums. The second alleges that a soldier came home from war with a wounded leg. There was a celebration, and the rest of the villagers danced with a limp and dragged one foot in sympathy for the soldier.
An exact history of the merengue is unknown, but the style of hold seems to originate from Western Europe, while the rhythm and footwork has African roots. In Puerto Rico, the upa was invented in 1842 and performed by marching bands. This was one of the predecessors to the merengue. The local aristocracy condemned the dance as morally corrupt, and it died out within a few decades in Puerto Rico. A Haitian merengue became popular in 1850s. This is perhaps one of the oldest forms of merengue.
Venezuela and Columbia created their own versions from the 1850s through the 1930s. Later, Puerto Rico adopted merengue, as it did salsa, and it is seen as part of the Puerto Rican culture today.
In the 20th century, millions of Dominicans immigrated to New York and settled what would later be known as Dominican York, which also served as a cultural center for the dance. Beyond this, merengue evolved with the influences of Hispanic and African American dance culture also prevalent in New York, creating merengue-house and merengue-rap.
Merengue today varies between a couple holding each other very close, performing simple steps and holding each other farther apart, giving space for turn combinations. The ballroom merengue in Puerto Rico relies on the basic two-step rhythm of the traditional dance, but adds a contrasting hip turn, making it more difficult to perform. After the turn comes a paso de la empalizada or "stick-fence step," then another turn. The figure merengue involves individual turns without the couple letting go of each other's hands. Bolero merengue typically begins with a slow introduction, then quickens to a fast jive towards the end of the song. This is popular in dance clubs.