Juan Luis Guerra

In his native Dominican Republic, merengue superstar Juan Luis Guerra is considered a poet and musician of the people. He and his band 440 are beloved throughout the Latino world. He is influential among the wave of artists responsible for revitalizing tropical music that languished during the late '80s due to radio oversaturation and lack of innovation. Guerra is the son of a professional baseball player and grew up next to the National Music Gallery. As a teen, he was influenced by the Beatles and by the music of the U.S. hippies. Initially, he taught himself the basics of ...