MANY of the greats of music and culture are expressing interest in getting to know Cuba, a Mecca of music. King of modern merengue Johnny Ventura had been planning to visit the island for a long time; a dream which has now become a reality, with his arrival in the country along with his family, to celebrate his 75th birthday.
Festivities began with the Festival of the Caribbean in Santiago de Cuba, where he gave a special variety concert in the Heredia theatre.
Later he delighted fans in the Karl Marx theatre, accompanied by Alaín Valdés and Tony Ávila, performing various Cuban boleros and sons.
He demonstrated to all why he is called the king of modern meringue, ‘El Caballo Mayor’(the Big Horse); singing with earthly force. A genuine spectacle.
Admittedly we had no idea of the Dominican singer’s longstanding admiration for Cuban music and musicians.
“En Santo Domingo we lived and listened to many Cuban radio stations. I spent my youth listening to the music of Benny Moré, Abelardo Barroso, Miguelito Valdés, Miguelito Cuní, Roberto Faz, Barbarito Diez, la Aragón, Fajardo y sus Estrellas”.
Surprisingly, in 1958 Johnny Ventura met Benny Moré during his visit to the Dominican Republic, and performed with him in the Salón Mozart, playing the maracas with the orchestra Su Majestad de Rondón Vutau.
“I am going to tell you for the first time that I felt Benny’s death as if he were my father. If I am artist, it is down to him,” he stated.
During a press conference Ventura stated that his career began on precisely July 2, 1956, after his friends convinced him to participate in a talent show.
“I began excited by the young women, I’d talk to them, dance and sing with them, be the life and soul of the party, I did everything I could to make them notice me. This worked for me in regards to my romantic success.”
Two of his classmates tried to trick him into participating in a talent show. Johnny Ventura resisted, so they withdrew him so that he would sing on the program Voz de la Alegría. He rehearsed, sung and won first prize. This happened one Thursday afternoon on June 2 in 1956, an idol was being born.
“After that,” he noted, “I sang boleros; I am a frustrated romantic, I like boleros and all the tropical styles. As a young boy I had to beg to eat.”
Little by little the singer innovated, making significant contributions to national traditional music. He created a new way of performing merengue. He innovated with his lyrics, fastened the catchy rhythm, accompanied by his Combo-Show.
They created a different sound, making the most of their youthful persistence, and winning many fans. They created a genuine visual spectacle, stage movements, and frenetic dances. They modernized the meringue rhythm introducing saxophones, trumpets, piano, drums, electronic effects, kettle drums, fusing other rhythms, but without losing the essence and natural colors of meringue.
“Merengue,” says Ventura, “is music of the colonial era, related to the battle fields of independence struggles, and has habanera (musical genre) influences. The typical original merengue group was formed of a guiro, tambor, and three or four members, and after 1870, the accordion was introduced, with the groups known as Perico Ripiaos”.
The Dominican singer has been performing for over 60 years, enjoyed great success, received awards, international recognition, and is an ambassador for Dominican music. He composes 70% of the music he performs, has released 150 albums, 28 of which have gone gold, and two platinum; he also won a Latin Grammy in 2004 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, for his outstanding career.
In his own country, he has won all manner of distinctions and forms part of the exclusive group which has received El Soberano, the highest honor awarded by the Association of Art Critics (ACE) of the Dominican Republic. He was also recognized by New York’s ACE.
Many consider him to be the father of modern meringue, the Merenguero of the century. The son of the people, that’s Johnny Ventura.
