bolero first came about in spain during the 18th century and started as a combination of the contradanza and the sevilana - a well-known dancer, named sebasriano carezo, is credited with inventing the style in 1780 and it is danced by either one or two people, to a fairly slow tempo.

in cuba the bolero kicked off in santiago de cuba in the last quarter of the 19th century and cubans are quick to state that the dance does not owe anything to the spanish genre.

after reaching mexico, the cuban bolero spread across the rest of latin america, eventually catching on in rio de janeiro - cariocas embraced bolero like it was their own, and while it is influenced by tango, evident in the many turns and crosses, numerous variations where added.