Merengue For Ever Made By Aramis Camilo: 1986's "Susana"

This performance by Aramis Camilo and his band named "la Organizacion Secreta" took place on February, 1986 at the old theater called The Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in NYC. The entrance was located on 33rd Street and 8th Avenue, right accross from the Post Office Building.

In the event participated around 15 bands from the Dominican Republic in an annual celebration called "El Carnaval del Merengue", produced by the Dominican impresario Jose Tejeda. All those bands were at the moment, on tour, and each and every one of them went back to the DR with excellent revenues.

Among the band personnel were many reputable musicians like Kaki Ruiz (Trumpet), Guillermo Sosa (Trombone), Lenny Camacho (Back-up singer and choreographer) and Juan Valdez (Piano and arrangements).

That was a moment when Merengue was in its best shape, dominating the airwaves and getting full houses in all night clubs in the area of NY, NJ and Connecticut. Also, in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and all of Latin America.

This song is a classic that until today, allows Aramis Camilo to capitalize on its fame and be on stage in various countries. He had lots of hits from the 80s that became a part of the Golden Years of Merengue.

He definitely contributed to making some Merengue For Ever!!!


Enjoy!



Downtown

Merengue For Ever With Michael Jackson''s Billie Jean

Merengue is quite possibly the musical style with more flexibility in terms of accepting variations from other styles and its incorporation into other rhythms.

Here's a rendition of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean we found on YouTube, it's very well put together.

The addition of Merengue elements, such as the beat and the saxophones, while simplistic, it certainly does justice to the original song since there's not much more that can be done (musically) to improve on such a masterpiece.

The video editing also enhances the entertainment value of this remix.

Enjoy!



Merengue For Ever!!!

Merengue For Ever Presents: Juan Luis Guerra's "El Farolito"

Today we are in the mood to introduce this Merengue by Juan Luis Guerra.

El Maestro from the Dominican Republic has imprinted his legacy in the history of Tropical Music (Merengue, Salsa, Bachata, etc.) and we don't know how far he's gonna go, but it seems as if he's still onto bigger things beyond Merengue.

This selection is titled "El Farolito" from is 1994 album "Fogarate'.

This is a style of Merengue called "Tipico", which is actually derived from the most primitive type of Merengue which depended from the 3 basic instruments: Tambora, Guira and Accordion.

Here, Juan Luis brings an intense Merengue, really strong in its percussion, all laced with his refined arrangement and unique singing style.

The arrangement includes a great accordion execution (non-stop throughout the song) by Francisco Ulloa, one of the Dominican legends in "Merengue Tipico". At 1:55 you can enjoy what is called "Jaleo de Acordeon" (From the word "Jalar" or "To Pull"), followed by the inclusion of Saxophones, Bongo and Synthesizer.

The chorus from the 440 Band adds depth to the overall experience of listening to a Merengue of this kind.

This is certainly one of the most memorable songs in JLG's prolific career.

And of course, it qualifies as a Merengue For Ever!!!

Enjoy!



Downtown

Rihanna - Please Don't Stop The Music (MERENGUE VERSION)

How cool is that? Most people know that Merengue is adaptable to any kind of music without losing its flava. This is a nice remix from the song "Please Don't Stop The Music" by Rihanna. It was made in the Dominican Republic.

Very refreshing song, I played it in all summer my picnics so far, and kids and adults like it.

Here it is: MERENGUE FOR EVER!!!




Pop Superstar Rihanna