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Wilfrido Vargas

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Wilfrido Vargas was born in the Dominican Republic in 1949 and grew up surrounded by music: his father played accordion and guitar, his mother flute and guitar. At the age of ten he went to the municipal music academy. He recorded his first album in 1972 with his band Wilfrido Vargas y sus Beduinos. In 1976 they played at Madison Square Garden, and in 1978 El Barbarazo came out, his first international hit. In 1979 he performed at the Havana Jam festival, together with the Fania All-Stars.

Music and breakthrough

In the 1980s he founded and led several successful merengue groups, including Las Chicas del Can and The New York Band. International success came with El Jardinero, La Medicina, El Africano and El Loco y La Luna. El Africano, from the 1983 album El funcionario, became the basis for Mami El Negro by the rapper DJ Laz. In 1991 he was nominated for a Grammy. In 1993 the Dominican president awarded him the Order of Christopher Columbus for his contribution to spreading the national music.

Influence

Merengue is the fast Dominican dance music with accordion or brass, tambora and güira. Vargas played an important part in making the style known worldwide. He was a composer, arranger and bandleader, and made merengue heard in discos far beyond the Caribbean. He now lives in Colombia.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to El Jardinero and notice the lightning-fast rhythm and the brass. Can you hear how the song never stands still, so that you almost have to dance along?

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: ArtistsMerengue