Johnny Ventura

Über Johnny Ventura

Johnny Ventura, known as El Caballo, dragged merengue out of the Trujillo-era ballroom and turned it into a show. From the 1960s he sped the rhythm up, cut the orchestra down to a punchy brass combo, and added choreography and showmanship borrowed from rock and roll. That template defined merengue for the next fifty years and made him a national institution, later serving as mayor of Santo Domingo. His death in 2021 brought the country to a standstill.