traditional bachata drew on a variety of influences including música jíbara from puerto rico, ranchera from mexico, and bolero and son from cuba. of these genres, traditional bachata is most closely related to bolero, from which it draws its rhythmic structure. but traditional bachata bands played son, merengue, and waltz in addition to bolero based songs. over time, the influence of merengue began to be felt more in the style of bolero based bachata. the introduction of the güira, a merengue instrument, and merengue adapted guitar riffs and rhythmic sections marked the evolution of modern bachata.