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A New York-based Dominican boy band with roots deep in bachata? If that sounds unlikely, well, Aventura have managed to cope with it. The group was formed in 1994 in the Bronx by four boys (Anthony Santos, Lenny Santos, Max Santos, and Henry Santos Jeter) who were determined to break Dominican bachata music out from its traditional base and fuse it with the other sounds they heard every day, like hip-hop and R&B. Interestingly, unlike other youths seeking success, they didn't give themselves over to a producer who might mold their sound; instead, they proceeded to learn all the skills they needed themselves, from production to instruments. Their real break came in 1999. Signed to BMG, they released their debut -- with an outside producer. The material, however, was their own, and they resisted the attempt to turn them into a cookie-cutter boy band in the style of the Backstreet Boys or *NSYNC by ensuring that the bachata element remained dominant. However, it fell between the cracks of...