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Wilfrido Vargas
Dominican Republic merengue 1980s

Wilfrido Vargas

Wilfrido Vargas is a Dominican musician, composer, arranger, and bandleader who helped turn merengue into a global phenomenon. He is one of the genre's great modernizers.

Origins

Born into a musical family and trained from age 10 at the Municipal Academy of Music, Vargas became a bandleader who pushed merengue onto international stages from the mid-1970s.

The sound

His music is fast, brass-driven merengue, marked by inventive arrangements and a flair for showmanship that broadened the genre's appeal.

Legacy

Vargas is widely credited with making merengue a worldwide style, influencing a generation of bandleaders and singers who followed.

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