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NatDDP Aug. 10th NatDDP. 43 years of Uplifting Empowering Elevating the Dominican Legacy 42 years of Legacy MerengueNuestroRitmo Merengue with a history spanning 170 years began in the 19th century among the poor in the Dominican Republic as a means to express their daily lives through music and dance. Initially dismissed by the elite as crude intellectuals like Eugenio Perdomo and Ulises Francisco Espaillat even saw it as a threat to traditional dances.