Juan Luis Guerra (1957-)

Juan Luis Guerra (1957-) is a musician from the Dominican Republic whose music has earned him international acclaim and popularity. He began to study music at the National Conservatory of the Dominican Republic and later at Berklee College of Music (LA Phil). He began releasing music with his band, the 4-40, in 1984 and has continued releasing music since (Ilich). Over the course of his career, he has won 18 Latin Grammy Awards and 3 Grammy awards (Ilich). His music draws from Merengue, an influential music style from the Dominican Republic, and combines that with elements from pop and jazz (LA Phil). He is widely considered one of the music popular artists from the Dominican Republic (Ilich).

Guerra also uses his music to bring attention to social issues in Latin America. One song, “Niágara en Bicicleta”, discusses the state of healthcare in Latin America (Kugel). The lyrics describe what happens to a man after he passes out and is taken to the ER. The name of the song which translates to Niagara on a bicycle is based on a Dominican phrase about the impossibility of crossing Niagara Falls on a bicycle (Kugel). Within these songs, Guerra often discusses social issues like poverty and healthcare while still sticking to the traditional beat of merengue or bachata (Kugel).

Guerra’s music also brings attention to distinctly Dominican forms of music like merengue and bachata. His album “Bachata Rosa”, released in 1990, brought international attention to bachata, which had mainly been popular in only the Dominican Republic before this (Ilich). This album also won a Grammy for Best Tropical Latin Album in 2008 (LA Phil). Overall, Guerra has brought international attention to traditionally Dominican music and helped it gain popularity outside of Latin America. All of his music is distinctly from itself but still features elements of merengue and elevates the genre with elements of jazz and pop (Ilich).

Works Cited

Ilich, Tijana. “Biography of Juan Luis Guerra.” Liveabout, January 1, 2019. https://www.liveabout.com/juan-luis-guerra-biography-2141123.

 Kugel, Seth. “The Sound of La Vida Dominicana.” The New York Times, July 18, 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/arts/music/18guer.html.

“Juan Luis Guerra.” LA Phil. Accessed February 24, 2022. https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/3254/juan-luis-guerra.