Santo Domingo.- The renowned bachatero, Anthony Santos, is set to appear before the judge of the Second Chamber of the Criminal Chamber of the National District next Tuesday. This follows the issuance of an arrest warrant for rebellion due to his non-attendance at a substantive trial hearing related to allegations of violating Copyright Law 65-00.

Carlos Balcácer, the bachatero’s lawyer, conveyed this information to N Digital, explaining that the artist’s presence was deemed unnecessary in the last hearing as an incident was to be addressed.

The default order was issued by Judge Clara Luz Almonte Gómez after both the artist and his lawyer were absent from the hearing, which aimed to address the plagiarism lawsuit filed against him by the successors of Tatico Henríquez.

Balcácer clarified that the arrest warrant isn’t a conviction for the Mayimbe of Bachata but rather a charge of rebellion, which can be resolved either by the individual’s arrest or by voluntary appearance in court.

“On Tuesday, I am going to take him to the Palace of Justice so that the rebellion can be lifted without major inconveniences,” stated Balcácer.

The defense lawyer argued that the bachatero had previously attended court on multiple occasions, and the opposing party used constant postponements as a strategy to wear him down, considering the strenuous travel from Montecristi to the National District.

Balcácer highlighted an incident where, due to fatigue from a marathon hearing in a case involving the former attorney, Jean Allan Rodríguez, the bachatero could not attend the hearing and sent an excuse along with a substitute lawyer.

“The judge accepted my excuse and asked, ‘Where is Anthony?’… And since the lawyer that I sent did not have the capacity to know about the incident, that’s when the opposing party and the prosecutor’s office attempted to have the judge declare him in absentia, presumably to avoid being challenged as partial,” he indicated.

In December 2022, the Mayimbe de la Bachata was directed to face a substantive trial in the legal proceedings initiated by the descendants of the renowned typical merenguero Tatico Henríquez. They accuse Santos of mutilating, recording, and marketing the song “Corazón de piedra.”