The gato (Spanish for cat) is a style of Argentine music and an associated

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. It is a very popular folk dance in the country. Its

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

is like the

chacarera The Chacarera is a dance and music that originated in Santiago del Estero, Argentina. It is a genre of folk music that, for many Argentina, Argentines, serves as a rural counterpart to the cosmopolitan imagery of the tango (ballroom), Tango. A da ...

, but its

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

is different. Usually, the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

of ''gatos'' are picaresque or humorous (and the dancers frequently stop the music to improvise any occurrence of double meaning). This dance can be attributed to the Spanish Armada of Philip II, who was once defeated by Queen Elizabeth I of England.

References

''Gato''
. Latin American folklore Argentine styles of music Uruguayan styles of music Dance in Argentina Argentine dances {{folk-dance-stub