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Aventura is a Dominican Bachata music group formed in The Bronx, New York in 1996. The group consists of lead singer and featured composer Anthony Santos, guitarist and producer Lenny Santos, bassist Max Santos,and composer Henry Santos Jeter. Aventura has sold over 1 million albums, and are also known for their hit singles "Obsesión", "La Boda", "Ella y Yo", "Un Beso", "Los Infieles", "Mi Corazoncito", "El Perdedor", "Por un Segundo", "All Up 2 You", "Su Veneno", and "Dile al Amor".
HistoryThe group’s lead singer and songwriter, Anthony Santos, was born in the Bronx to a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. His cousin, who also sings and writes songs for the band, Henry Santos Jeter, is the only member of Aventura who was born in the Dominican Republic; he moved to New York at the age of 13. Lenny Santos, the group’s lead guitarist and arranger, and his brother Mikey, who plays bass, are both Bronx natives of Dominican origin.
All of them grew up listening to the most popular bachateros of the era—singers like Blas Durán, Raulín Rodríguez, Teodoro Reyes, and Joe Veras—but the biggest influence on the group was Anthony Santos. The first member of Aventura to try his hand at music was Lenny Santos, who produced and arranged the first two albums for bachatero Elvis Martínez, who would later be known as “El Camarón.”
At the same time, Santos started his own band with his brother Mikey and a neighborhood friend named David Maceo who started singing with them and later left for the Dominican Republic
. When they needed a singer, Bryant Berroa a friend told them about a kid from the block who sang, and Anthony "Romeo" Santos joined the group, followed by his cousin Henry Santos Jeter. Such an environment was hardly comparable to that of the members of Aventura when they began as Los Teenagers.
Rather than operate in the world of other bachata groups of the day, Aventura began their career playing for a specialized fan base of their friends and other local young people. [1] This public was made up of the children of immigrants who, like the members of the group, had grown up in the US, spoke English as much or more than Spanish and shared a broader Latino-American culture rather than a strictly Dominican one. 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 the bachata element remained dominant, and released their first album Trampa de Amor. The group’s local success caught the attention of producer Julio Cesar of Premium Latin Music and he signed them to a long-term record deal and changed their name to Aventura. [2]
On Friday December 4, 2009 during their Houston, TX concert, Aventura was honored with the key to the city of Houston.
Artistic careerIn 1999, they released their first studio album Generation Next, which featured the hit single "Cuando Volverás". The song introduced the group's style of singing in both English and Spanish. Although it initially received little promotion, the album became big once their follow-up was released. In 2002, We Broke the Rules was released, featuring their hit single "Obsesión", which reached the top spot of various charts internationally. It received constant airplay in New York City in the summer of 2002 on stations Latino Mix 105.9 and La Mega 97.9, leading to the single becoming an international hit.
In March 2003, New York stations started promoting their third album, Love & Hate, after the success of "Obsesión." After months of promotion, Love & Hate was finally released in November 2003. The album gained notoriety after its lead single "Hermanita" was released in 2004; it peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks.[title=Aventura – Chart History on Billboard]
Aventura's next single, "La Boda," was released in early 2005. In April 2005, its album ''God's Project'' was released. It drew praise in 2005 and 2006 with the singles "Ella y Yo" and "Un Beso." On October 19, 2006, the single "Los Infieles" was released, which was featured two months later on Aventura's next album, K.O.B. Live. The second single "Mi Corazoncito" would become one of Aventura's most successful singles. The third single "El Perdedor" also charted number one on various charts. Promotion for the album The Last started in January 2009, with the release of the first single "Por un Segundo". It reached number one on the Hot Latin Tracks in late January 2009, becoming their first #1 hit. On June 5, 2009, they released their second single "All Up 2 You", which featured Wisin & Yandel and Akon. It became a top five hit on the Hot Latin Tracks. The Last was released on June 9, 2009, and reached number five on the Billboard 200, breaking the record previously held by Wisin & Yandel with their album La Revolucion which had reached number seven. On July 6, 2009, they released a Bolero version of their third single Su Veneno. On July 7, 2009, they released a Bachata version of Su Veneno along with its music video.
On October 13, 2009, the group sang their hit "Su Veneno" as part of the Hispanic Heritage month celebration at the White House hosted by President Barack Obama, next to big artists like Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Comedian George Lopez, Gloria Estefan, pop singer Thalia, and many others. The group refers to this event as "The highest step in their careers".
On November 18, 2009, they released their fourth single "Dile al Amor." "Dile al Amor" was another hit, becoming the group's second #1 single on the Hot Latin Tracks.
The group went on tour to support their album "The Last." The tour began in mid-November 2009 with dates scheduled through February 2010. On December 3, 2009, the tour entered at #3 on Billboards' Hot Tours List, earning $3,000,000 in just one week. Aventura is poised to make history in Madison Square Garden, with 4 sold out shows beginning January 20, 2010. The group will be going head-to-head with American pop singer Lady GaGa, who will be performing 4 sold out shows in Radio City Music Hall beginning the same day.
Musical styleAventura created their own unique style of bachata by infusing the sounds of hip hop, R&B and reggaeton. They use both English and Spanish in their lyrics.
Aventura’s relationship with bachata’s original listeners and performers has been complex; even as Aventura’s stardom lowers
on the international market, the group has remained almost a footnote among bachata’s traditional listeners and artists. With the exception of “Obsesión,” the plethora of local cover bands in New York have made almost no attempt to learn and perform the group’s songs. Additionally, the members of the group have had acrimonious on-stage conflicts with such traditional icons as Luis Vargas and Frank Reyes. While bachata’s other “breakthrough” group, Monchy y Alexandra, is in good standing with bachata musicians, Aventura, despite having recorded songs with stalwarts like Anthony Santos and Leonardo Paniagua, seem to belong to another world. This can be due in part to the band’s fashion statement; from the beginning, they have cultivated a cosmopolitan image, intentionally distancing themselves from the rural, humble, and nationalistic image of the traditional music. While their own young audience has identified strongly with this, many longtime bachata listeners criticize the band’s style as extravagant, denying furthermore that its music is really bachata. Another factor isolating the group has been the failure of any other group emulating Aventura’s sound to achieve and maintain commercial success.
ControversyOn February 22, 2007 Anthony Santos won Pop song of the year along with Mexican singer, Thalía for the song "No, No, No" at the 2007 Premios Lo Nuestro . Anthony accepted the award but did not thank Thalía, he instead thanked and dedicated the award to his seven year old son, Alex. Anthony, who composed the song, replied that when he heard he had won the award the only person he could think of was his son, which is why he dedicated the award to him. He apologized to Thalía, who was unable to attend the award ceremony. Thalía said she was not mad and said "It's simply things that can happen when you win".
Members- Anthony (Romeo) Santos – Song Writer, Lead Singer, and Featured Composer
- Henry Santos Jeter – Singer and Composer/vocals
- Lenny Santos – Guitarist, Producer/Arranger
- Max Santos – Bass
Discography- 1999: Generation Next
- 2002: We Broke the Rules
- 2003: Love & Hate
- 2005: ''God's Project
- 2009: The Last
Copyright Citations
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