The Venezuelan waltz is a hall dance and accompanying musical genre that was popularized in 19th-century Venezuela. Federico Villena is considered as the father of the Venezuelan Waltz, which changed the European waltz in form, and by adding African and local rhythms.
The two main types of waltz were the hall waltz and the popular waltz. The former was typically performed on piano. Key musicians in this genre were Federico Vollmer, Manuel Azpúrua, Manuel Guadalajara, Rafael Isaza, Heraclio Fernández, Rogelio Caraballo, Francisco de Paula Aguirre, Ramon Delgado Palacios, Laudelino Mejías and Antonio Lauro.
The popular waltz was performed on traditional regional instruments, often the violin and the bandola accompanied by guitar, tiple and cuatro. Most popular waltzes had anonymous composers.