section_path: Cultural traditions/Latin America
section_name: Latin America
paragraph_text: Latin America
  
  Dance is central to Latin American social life and culture. Brazilian Samba, Argentinian tango, and Cuban salsa are internationally popular partner dances, and other national dances— merengue, cueca, plena, jarabe, joropo, marinera, cumbia, bachata and others—are important components of their respective countries' cultures. Traditional Carnival festivals incorporate these and other dances in enormous celebrations.
  
  Dance has played an important role in forging a collective identity among the many cultural and ethnic groups of Latin America. Dance served to unite the many African, European, and indigenous peoples of the region. Certain dance genres, such as capoeira, and body movements, especially the characteristic quebradas or pelvis swings, have been variously banned and celebrated throughout Latin American history.