Wilfrido Vargas
Latin
The next Wilfrido Vargas concert is scheduled for Saturday, June 21, 2025 at Tarima Producciones in Hialeah, FL, United States. See all 4 upcoming concerts
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About Wilfrido Vargas
Hometown
Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Born
April 24, 1949
Genre
Latin
Wilfrido Vargas (b. Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez, April 24, 1949, Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic), was a bandleader, trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer who was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide phenomena. He began his musical studies early, attending the Municipal Academy of Music beginning at age 10. Before he was 12, he was the trumpet soloist and director of a small local band. It was in his twenties, however, that he begun to have commercial and critical successes. His band, Los Beduinos, produced their first album, Wilfrido Vargas y sus Beduinos, on the Karen label in 1974. It was the first of 17 albums that Vargas would record with Karen, all the while acting as mentor to a new generation of merengue musicians. Half of that first album was written by pianist and composer Sonny Ovalle, who helped develop Los Beduinos' sound and who would later make a major contribution to Vargas' hit albums in the '80s.
Vargas' first hit came with his fourth album, Punto y Aparte!, which was issued by Karen in 1978. It produced a hit single, "El Barbarazoí," and helped touch off a worldwide merengue craze, providing exposure for scores of Dominican artists. Vargas had a series of hit albums in the '80s, beginning with his duet with Los Beduinos vocalist Sandy Reyes, Wilfrido Vargas y Sandy Reyes, which was issued in 1982. In 1987 he switched to the Sonotone label and produced five albums with them, including Animation, which received a 1989 Grammy nomination. From 1991 on he was with the Rodven label, and while he remained a major name in merengue, he would never again achieve the prominence that he had known in the '80s. Outside of the merengue genre, Vargas also made a major contribution to the Fania All-Stars, joining them for their historic performances in Cuba in 1979 and contributing to the recording of the All Stars' Habana Jam album, recorded March 3 of that year at a concert in Havana. ~ Stacia Proefrock
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