For Guireros, Guira Repiques are an important part of Merengue.
If we were to mute ALL instruments while executing a Repique this moment of isolation wouldn't make much sense. An untrained ear will consider the experience to be confounding and perhaps misinterpret its true purpose.
To some this additional swift wrist action is one of the last steps and hardest to complete with precision.
"A Repique is a trick, tricky to achieve accurately".~~~johnguira
A Redundant statement, nevertheless true.
How is Repique defined ?
A suitable and acceptable ornamentation that does not compromise tempo or symmetry.
The very reason for that is because a Repique in Guira is pretty much subjective and is to be use with (discretion) caution.
As the new modern Merengue makes its way in, the true elements of Guira will eventually continue to delude. Let's not confuse evolution with better quality. The trend nowadays for most Guireros is to try to imitate the popular fabrication of sound of others, somehow this creates an illusion that you are well rounded and know what you are doing.
As different genres merge an associate with one another, the importance of originality and appreciation of folklore will slowly deface by this new concept called Popularity.. Be advise this is not happening everywhere, however it's a reality that has been unfolding for sometime now.
As a matter of fact that's exactly what's going on with #Merengue, the lost of essence trickles down all the way from the composers to the musicians playing the piece. But going back to this decorous exercise (Guira Repique) I will conclude by stating the following.
"There is more to a Repique than just adding rapid combos with flying patterns, we must understand this improvised transition not only comes alive with speed, but more importantly, Tradition & Folklore" ~~~johnguira