Antony Santos Bachata

Bachata’s modern era was ushered in by Blas Durán’s incorporation of the electric guitar into the music in 1987. The group of bachateros who followed in Durán’s footsteps—Luis Vargas, Raulín Rodriguez, Antony Santos, Juan Bautista--all had a role in defining what the music has come to sound like today. There is, however, no argument that the single most influential bachatero in establishing the modern style, as well as the most commercially successful within the Dominican Republic is Antony Santos.
Santos comes from the same region on the northern border with Haiti as Luis Vargas and Raulín Rodriguez, and they all worked with one another at various times. Santos began as the güirero in Luis Vargas’ group when Vargas was beginning to make a name for himself with doble sentido merengues that imitated both Blas Duran and Eladio Romero Santos.

He left Vargas’ group in the wake of personal differences between the two, and recorded his first production, La chupadera, in 1991. The cassette (at that time bachata was not yet available on CDs, which at any rate would have been too expensive for the music’s traditional audience) included a number of doble sentido songs like “La parcela”, “La passola” and “El behuco”. The number that helped define the beginning of a new era in bachata, however, was “Voy pa’lla”, a strictly romantic song which became a huge hit among both traditional bachateros and the public at large. “Voy pa’lla” was one of the first significant “electric” bachatas not based on sexual double entendre, and it reached a wider audience than probably any single song ever recorded in the genre up to that time.

Antony Santos was precisely the right musician in the right place at the right time during bachata’s history. While it was the bachata “Voy pa’lla” that originally made him famous, Santos had as much success with the merengues on his recordings as the bachatas. This heavy emphasis on merengue was instrumental in allowing bachata to reach a larger audience, because many Dominicans, still unwilling to let go of the traditional stigma against bachata, didn’t know how to dance it. Santos’ merengues were accessible to the Dominican public at large, and some of his biggest hits have been merengues.

While modern bachata does not begin with Santos, the innovations which he and his group introduced into the genre have been extremely important in defining its current form. Previously, lead guitarists like Edilio Paredes and Augusto Santos played upward with their fingers in a florid, melodic style; even Jesús Martinez, Blas Duran's pioneering lead guitarist, used his fingers to play although in a simpler fashion. Antony Santos, followed the lead of his mentor Luis Vargas and Eladio Romero Santos in playing the strings downward, with a thumb pick. The resulting style was simpler and more rhythmic, and has given bachata an instantly recognizable sound when compared with other kinds of Latin guitar music. Meanwhile, the bachata which Santos was recording began to reflect, more and more, the influence of his merengues. His bongo player played the instrument with two sticks, rather than with his hands, and many of the breaks had a merengue feel. In addition, the group developed a mambo section in which the güira plays a pattern typical of merengue and the bass plays a pattern derived from the cha-cha-cha section of traditional bolero. In the merengues themselves, the traditional tambora rhythm was replaced by a simplified version of “caballito”, the rhythm made popular by merengue orquestas like Los Hermanos Rosarios.

As the decade of the 1990s went on, Santos was consistently successful with both his bachatas and his merengues, and the rhythmic patterns which his group developed for the different sections of the song came to be the standard for the genre. And while other bachateros came and went, Santos continued to thrive, eclipsing his rival and former mentor, Luis Vargas, among others. So many of Santos’ songs have become classics of modern bachata that a list of them would read like a list of virtually everything he recorded during the 1990s. Some of his most significant songs during this period have been his merengues “El perrito”; “Me voy a morir”: “Dejame entrar”; “La batalla”, and “Quililín quililán”. Among the many landmark bachatas which Santos recorded during the 1990s are “Corazón culpable”, “Quien te engañó”, “Consejo de padre”, “Durmiendo solo” and “Pegame tu vicio”.

In 2001’s El balazo, Santos began to experiment again by incorporating an electric keyboard into his merengues, a subtle innovation which did not significantly alter the music. In the following recording, Juego de amor, he included saxophones and turned the keyboard up in the mix. The new sound did not receive ringing endorsements from bachata’s traditional audience; by this time other bachateros had drastically reduced the number of merengues they were recording as bachata itself grew in popularity by leaps and bounds, so fans of merengue de cuerda had only Santos to depend on. His incorporation of saxophones and piano seem to have hurt the popularity of his most recent recordings, although the bachatas on them, including “La jaula de oro” and “Ay, ay, ay” (recorded live), have been well received

At this point Antony Santos is the elder statesman of bachata. To many young bachateros, unfamiliar with Blas Duran, Santos’ music is where modern bachata begins. The fact that he is still active and successful helps to cement his importance in the minds of today’s bachata audience. While Santos was not in fact responsible for the innovations that lead to bachata’s modernization, for which credit is due to Durán and his lead guitarist, Jesús Martinez, he is unquestionably the most important figure in establishing the norms of the modern style. Santos’ popularity, as well, remains as large as his influence. He continues to record hits, and on visits to New York to perform at Madison Square Gardens.

-- David Wayne

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jaelgomez January 15, 2015

Para mi antoni santo es el mejor por eso megustaría q el cantará algún tema de eso q yo ago

Dr. Alvarez December 12, 2014

hola!favor podrian ayudarme con el nombre de la cacion de Antony Santos que dice:
Nunca te olvides que me dejaste y que tienes que volver, que hace ya un tiempo que tu te fuiste y yo no aguanto mujer.

Warly colon September 6, 2014

Elk nadie apodido con el todavía dios es el único elk lo puede todo y el tedio ese swing k nadie lo tiene hoy se bebe kiero raboo hasta la 5 d la mañana es el mayimbe k esta aki carajo

Warly colon September 6, 2014

El mejor bachatero k hay en la historia d la bachata se llama Antony santos k viva para siempre tu eres elk save d esta vaina nadie como tu en bachata coño eres el mejor lo dije . Warly colon.

Lina Fera-Sheffer August 30, 2014

Thank you for the history lesson, it is appreciated. I fell in love with Bachata in 1998 on the boulevard near the old fort at a concert with Anthony Santos. I don't think he has returned to Puerto Plata since. Fernando Villalona and his daughter also played that night. QUESTION: I have tried everywhere to get an Anthony Santos concert schedule for 2014 and 2015. I wish to travel from Canada to attend in the Domenican Republic. Can you advise me of the schedule or where I can obtain an agenda. Thank you/Gracias. I LOVE BACHATA (old and contemporary)

Angel July 20, 2014
Neyda Garay June 26, 2014

me encanta su música, desde que comenzó, a pesar de su apariencia siempre tuvo su autoestima muy alta. Cuando sube al escenario lo hace seguro de que es el mejor, y así es, nadie lo supera. Me llena de emoción ser su admiradora y que regrese a Puerto Rico lo estamos esperando. Viva el Mayimbe!!!!!! y República Dominicana.

faustino de la rosa June 7, 2014

Antoni si k eres el mejol sin duda tengo pal de bachata escrita

RAMON GARCIA May 13, 2014

esta cancion.dice.yo conoci una chica en el malecon.una chica bonita sencilla y millonaria........yo conoci una cjica en el malecon,una chica bonita,sencilla y millonaria.2d......estrofa...dice....ella me dijo hola papi como estas,mi nombre es karina la hija de papa billetes.y vine al malecon,en busca de un ramillete,y yo me dije wao me saque la loteria.cuando vi que esa mujer, de mi ella estaba enamorada.y yo pensando que nunca se fijaria en mi.por cara de monito quique,pero asi es la vida nadie nace sabiendo,ni se muere despues de la fecha,y yo haciendome el santo,le dije mucho gusto mi nombre es ramon el hijo de donald trump jr,para servirles a usted y a dios.asi que yo tambien naci aqui en santo domingo,pero vivo en newyork..y vine a santo domingo e busca de un nuevo amor.que me des su carino,y completo su corazon.para yo entregarle el mio que esta jarto de problemas.porque tengo colesterol diabetes y alta presion

RAMON GARCIA May 13, 2014

antony santos recuerdas. que el lengue lengue lengue.es un merengue pegajoso para que tu lo cante a ritmo de guitarra.ese es mi nuevo tema que quiero darte el dia que yo te vea.en concierto.aqui en new york city.oite eh ayayay.yhank you bye