Originally known as the Cha-Cha-Cha, this dance became wildly popular about 1954. The name "cha-cha" first appeared in Haiti, where it was the name of a component of a bell. This bell was made from a plat that made a "cha-cha" noise when rubbed. Haitians quickly learned to use the bell element as an instrument to keep time as well. The "cha-cha" was, therefore, probably the first metronome to hit Haiti.

The cha-cha was actually created from the mambo, when it toured America. Several audiences complained that the mambo was too fast and jerky for their taste. Orchestras began slowing it down, and the cha-cha was created from this new beat. Therefore, the cha-cha is a mambo, slowed down about three times! Since the mambo was a fusion of jazz and Lain rhythm, the cha-cha retains these qualities. It is a sensual, energetic dance.

In the slow Mambo tempo, there was a distinct sound in the music that people began dancing to, calling the step the "Triple" Mambo. Eventually it evolved into a separate dance, known today as the Cha Cha.

The cha-cha itself was invented by Enrique Jorrin, a Cuban violinist, in 1954. Jorrin, a member of the Orquesta America Charanga, slowed down the mambo beat and made several recording that implemented this change. The sound of the cha-cha is said to be the origin of the name. When Cuban ladies danced, their hells smacked the floor in a chacha- cha rhythm.

The dance consists of three quick steps (triple step or cha cha cha) and two slower steps on the one beat and two beat.