Johnny Ventura, Dominican singer who helped modernize merengue, dies at 81
After Trujillo’s assassination in 1961, Mr. Ventura helped convey merengue again to the streets. His band, the Combo Present, wore informal tropical shirts, danced alongside him onstage, and featured conga drums, saxophones and keyboards in addition to the normal accordion, güira and tambora. Singer Joseíto Mateo, a pioneer of the style, later credited Mr. Ventura with creating a “happier merengue.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/native/obituaries/johnny-ventura-dead/2021/07/30/29c0deec-f0b7-11eb-bf80-e3877d9c5f06_story.html | Johnny Ventura, Dominican singer who helped modernize merengue, dies at 81
