Bachata pioneers recognized

Santo Domingo.- Last Thursday became a historic day for bachata in the Dominican Republic when the Bulevar de las Estrellas Foundation on Winston Churchill Avenue unveiled the stars of the pioneers of the musical genre: José Manuel Calderón, Luis Segura “El Añoñaíto” and Leonardo Paniagua.

Journalist Carlos Batista Matos, president of the entity founded in 1998, highlighted the trajectory and contributions to the music of the three Dominican artists since the 1960s, following introductory words by presenter Michael Miguel Holguín.

“In the 60s, 70s and 80s, they led those decades with their bachata, not only as performers, but also as innovators. And today bachata circulates all over the planet,” expressed Carlos Batista Matos.

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Calderón, Segura, and Paniagua have dedicated their lives to bachata, taking our musical genre to all continents. They are pioneers of this rhythm, which UNESCO declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019.

In this exciting act, I could not miss the bachata music. That is why a group of musicians accompanied Allendy and the young singer from Villa Altagracia, known as La Negra del Swing, to sing some of the songs of the three pillars of bachata: “Pena,” “Bebiendo en la barra” and “Mi secreto,” who were joined by the honorees, as well as Bonny Cepeda and Sergio Hernández.

They are not retiring

Despite all these years of musical career, these three bachata artists agree that, for now, they are not retiring from the stages. On the contrary, they want to continue innovating and joining their voices, as far as possible, with the new trends of bachata, in which Romeo Santos, Prince Royce, Natty Natasha, or a Colombian like Manuel Turizo, among others, are making incursions.

Merenguero Bonny Cepeda, Vice Minister of Culture, said that Luis Segura’s music had influenced him from his childhood to the present day and that in his concerts, he is asked to sing “Pena.”

“If my mother were here, she would have been very happy, because she taught me your music,” Cepeda said.

Stars on the Boulevard

Since 1998, this Winston Churchill Avenue boulevard has also featured the stars of Juan Luis Guerra, Jatnna Tavárez, Rafael Corporán de los Santos, Pedro Martínez, Yaqui Núñez del Risco, Freddy Beras Goico, Juan Marichal, Mariasela Álvarez, Niní Cáfaro, Rafael Solano, Milly Quezada and Cristian Castro.

Also, Nuria Piera, María Montés, Monina Solá, Felipe Rojas Alou, Félix del Rosario, Sammy Sosa, Fernando Villalona, Charytín Goico, Luis Alberti, Johnny Ventura, and Oscar de la Renta, among others.