What is "guaracha"

n. 1 (context music uncountable English) A genre of Cuban popular music with rapid tempo and lyrics. 2 (context music countable English) A piece performed in this style.

The guaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in low-class dance salons. They became an integral part of bufo comic theatre in the mid-19th century. During the later 19th and the early 20th century the guaracha was a favourite musical form in the brothels of Havana. The guaracha survives today in the repertoires of some trova musicians, conjuntos and Cuban-style big bands.