Tribute to Johnny Ventura ‘El Rey Del Merengue” RIP

Merengue legend Johnny Ventura (pictured bottom left) passed on July 28. He was 81. Born Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano, better known as Johnny Ventura as well as by the nicknames: El Caballo Mayor and El Rey del Merengue. He started his career at the age of 16. If you ever seen one of Ventura’s live performances, one was amazed at his non-stop high energy sets.

He was always dancing from the time he hit the stage until the end of the set. Ventura was a phenomenal showman who was always smiling, singing with that magnificent voice of his, full of charisma and fronting his powerhouse band. He left us with such classic merengues as “El Rey Del Merengue”, “Patacon Pisao”, “Pitaste”, “Merenguero Hasta La Tambora” and other great hits. Ventura has collaborated with many artists including Oscar D’Leon.

Ventura was not only a legendary performer but served as an official in public office in the roles as a legislator of the Lower House between 1982 and 1986, Vicemayor of Santo Domingo from 1994 to 1998, and as mayor of Santo Domingo from 1998 to 2002. But politics never completely swayed him from his show business career. In 1999, Ventura was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall Of Fame. In 2006, Ventura was presented with the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in recognition of his career.

Thanks for all the great music and performances, Maestro Johnny Ventura!!!