Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer.
He has sold 15 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists.
Throughout his career, he has won numerous awards including 24 Latin Grammy Awards, three
Grammy Awards, and one Latin Billboard Music Award.
1982
He later studied guitar and music theory at the Dominican Republic's Conservatorio Nacional de Música (National Conservatory of Music) in Santo Domingo, and then decided to go to the United States to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, from which he graduated in 1982 with a diploma in jazz composition.
He then returned to the Dominican Republic and formed a band with local musicians from his community.
1983
In 1983, after a performance in front of the Dominican entrepreneur Bienvenido Rodríguez, Juan Luis Guerra was signed to Karen Records.
This marked a radical shift in Guerra's musical style toward merengue.
1984
Guerra released his first album, Soplando (1984), with local musicians who became known as Juan Luis Guerra y 440.
The number refers to the standard tuning of A440.
The band's name in Spanish is Cuatro Cuarenta ("Four Forty").
According to Guerra, this first album was based on jazz tunes and concepts he had learned at Berklee, and it "wasn't intended to be a commercial hit."
Subsequently, however, he began to write more merengues.
1985
In this period, he recorded two albums, Mudanza y Acarreo in 1985 and Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú in 1987.
These works gained more recognition, and the band was nominated to attend the OTI (Organization of Iberoamerican Television) Festival to represent the Dominican Republic.
1988
In 1988, during the recording of the album Ojalá Que Llueva Café, Guerra became the dominant vocalist of 440.
This album also began his international recognition; the album's sales topped the charts in many Latin American countries.
1990
In 1990, 440 released their next album, Bachata Rosa, which became a major hit and earned Guerra his first Grammy award.
With sales over five million, the album let Guerra keep touring Latin America, US and Europe.
It contains memorable love songs such as "Burbujas de amor" (Bubbles of Love), "Bachata Rosa", "Rosalía", "Como abeja al panal" (Like a Bee to the Honeycomb), "A pedir su mano" (Asking For Her Hand), "Carta de amor" (Love Letter), and "Estrellitas y duendes" (Little stars and elves).
1992
Guerra attracted controversy in 1992 after he released his next album, Areíto (which is a Taíno word for song and dance).
It featured the hit single "El costo de la vida" (The Cost of Living), whose video clearly has an anti-capitalist message.
Other songs included in this album protest the poor conditions in many Latin American countries, the celebration of the 'discovery' of the Americas ("1492"), and the double standards of first-world nations.
"El costo de la vida" was his first number-one hit in the Hot Latin Tracks.
1994
His next album, Fogaraté (1994) avoided such controversy.
It focuses on more rural and lesser known types of Dominican music, like Perico Ripiao.
1998
Guerra's 1998 release Ni es lo mismo ni es igual (Neither The Same Nor Equal) won three Latin Grammys in 2000 for Best Merengue Performance, Best Tropical Song, and Best Engineered Album.
Its hits include "Mi PC" (lit. "My PC", My Computer ), "Palomita Blanca" (Little White Dove), and "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (The Niagara on Bicycle).
2004
In 2004, Guerra signed a one-off deal with Vene music and released his first new album in six years.
2010
He won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year.
2012
In 2012, he won the Latin Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.
Guerra is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists of recent decades.
His popular style of merengue and Latin fusion has garnered him considerable success throughout Latin America.
He is also credited for popularizing bachata music on a global level and is often associated with the genre, although his distinct style of bachata features a more traditional bolero rhythm and aesthetic mixed with bossa-nova influenced melodies and harmony in some of his songs.
He does not limit himself to one style of music, instead, his music incorporates a wide arrange of diverse rhythms such as merengue, bachata, bolero, balada, fusion, salsa, cumbia, mambo, cha-cha-cha, pop, rock and roll, reggae, classical, R&B, folk, blues, jazz, funk, soul, rock, hip-hop/rap, son cubano, and religious, amongst many others.
"Ojalá Que Llueva Café" ("Hopefully It Rains Coffee") is one of his most critically acclaimed pieces.
Born Juan Luis Guerra Seijas, his parents were Gilberto Guerra Pacheco, and Olga Seijas Herrero.
He has two brothers, José Gilberto, a plastic surgeon, and Diego Esteban, a graduate in business administration.
He was a student at La Salle and Santa Teresita school, where he stood out for his love of sports.
Before becoming interested in music, Guerra studied Philosophy and Literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo.
