Dominican salsa

Early history and Cuban influence on Dominican salsa performers

Cuco Valoy, also known as "El Brujo" ("the wizard" or "the sorcerer"), is a Dominican salsero/sonero and ambassador for Afro-Cuban music. He studied music theory at the Dominican Republic's National Conservatory of Music. He first gained attention in the 1950s with his brother, Martin, in the music duo Los Ahijados. The brothers provided the vocals for the band Los Compadres from Cuba. Valoy appeared in the salsa scene originally as a sonero, one of the Cuban rhythms that later gave developed into the commercial name "Salsa", in the 1970s with his hits "Juliana" (later covered by the group DLG), "El Divorcio", and "Nació Varón". Cuco's son, Ramón Orlando, known as "El Maestro", one of the pioneers of merengue típico (considered "classic merengue") of the 1980s, continued the family legacy as musical conductor of the popular band La Orquesta Internacional. In 1992, Orlando received 7 Casandra Awards, including el Soberano, the top award of the ceremony. Also known as "El Maestro," Orlando has also been an influential contributor for his work behind Latin music. Orlando's influence and success continued for decades, including a Grammy win in 2005 for his merengue album "Generaciones".

Dominican Henry García has been a salsa singer for a number of years, performing with the salsa bands of both Valoy and Orlando, as well as singing on many albums by various bands, such as the hit album "Sobran Razones" by the group Fernando Echavarría de La Familia André.

Santiago Cerón was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1940 and was a singer with various Dominican and Cuban based bands, including Orquestra of Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, Tony Pabon y La Protesta and the Orquesta de Arsenio Rodriguez. He went solo around 1970, and his first album was Tumbando Puertas, featuring the hit "Lindo Yambu". After that, Cerón became the Dominican face of salsa and son both in New York city and across South America.

In addition to co-creating the Fania Records label, influential in getting the sound of salsa out of local New York City clubs and into wider-distribution, Dominican-born musician Johnny Pacheco led the Fania All-Stars, a lineup featuring many of salsa's best performers, including Dominican-born Rey Reyes. Pacheco, as a performer, producer and bandleader, earned nine Grammy nominations, ten Gold records and many other awards throughout his career. Fania Records helped propel the popularity of the new sound and dance by signing innovative early salsa artists like Larry Harlow, Ray Barretto and Bobby Valentín.

A notable salsa performer from the Dominican Republic is José Alberto, known as "El Canario" (The Canary) for his widely adored voice, who was born in Santo Domingo in 1958. Alberto relocated to Puerto Rico with his family and later to New York in the early 1970s, where he sang with several orchestras. He received international attention as the bandleader of Típica 73 in October 1977. In 1983, Alberto hired a group of well-known musicians to perform as José Alberto "El Canario" y Su Orquesta. In 1991, Alberto released his first album, Dance With Me, and saw success from the album's romantic lyrics combined with energetic salsa arrangements. Over the next few years he released albums and singles on the CBS and Sony labels, before signing with RMM Records in 1997. Alberto's influence is shown in his numerous Gold and Platinum records.

Another salsa star from the Dominican Republic is Raulín Rosendo, known as "El sonero enfadado" (The Angry Sonero). Born in 1957, by age 12 Rosendo was already performing with the merengue group, "El Chivo y su Banda." Rosendo was soon performing on a show televised on the Rahintel network, and by 19 had been signed to perform with a band led by Cuco Valoy. Rosendo later became co-leader, with Fernandito Villalona, of the group "Los Hijos del Rey." These groups performed salsa and merengue in large venues in New York City and abroad, leading to Rosendo recording numerous albums, including five on the Kubaney label. In 1981, Rosendo formed his own orchestra and for the first time produced as a soloist for his project, "El que te Guia." His 1995 album Uno Se Cura was nominated for at the Casandra Awards and the New York Latin ACE Awards. He had more hit songs in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.