Boogaloo
/ˌbuː.ɡəˈluː/noun
A style of dance and music that blends rhythm and blues with Latin and Afro-Cuban influences.
Did you know?The word later gained a second life through the 1984 film title Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, inspiring the phrase “Electric Boogaloo” as a joking label for sequels and repetitions.
Etymological Timeline
Early 20th Century
English
boogie / boogie-woogie
“A blues-based musical and dance term; its deeper origin is uncertain, though it became an important source for the later word boogaloo.”
1950s
Spanish
bugalú
“A Spanish-language adaptation of the English musical term, used especially in Caribbean and Latin American popular music.”
1960s
English
boogaloo
“A new dance and musical style combining rhythm and blues with Afro-Cuban and other Latin influences.”
1966
English
Boogaloo
“The term entered wider popular awareness through recordings and dance performances associated with the U.S. Latin-soul scene.”
1984
English
Electric Boogaloo
“A playful expanded phrase popularized by the film title Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.”
Modern English
English
boogaloo
“The original music-and-dance style; the word is also used humorously for a repeat or sequel, and in a later political slogan unrelated to its musical origins.”
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