Today is singer, song writer, and producer, Juan Luis Guerra’s birthday! The Grammy-Award winning Dominican artist was born on June 7, 1957 and turned 61 today. He is without a doubt, one of the most successful Latino artists of all time with more than 30 million albums sold and 18 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards under his belt. His music never gets old and will probably always hold a special place in our nostalgic hearts. Here’s a look at some of his best songs we’ll never stop listening to.
“Requiem Sobre el Jaragua (Le Dien Dinamita)”
If you grew up listening to Juan Luis Guerra—especially if you’re Dominican—chances are you remember your parents playing his songs with his group 440 on the regular. They most likely had “Requiem Sobre El Jaragua (Le Dien Dinamita)” on repeat.
“Frio Frio”
I don’t know a single Juan Luis Guerra fan who doesn’t love this jam. The chorus is practically poetry: “Frío, frío como el agua del río/O caliente como agua de la fuente/Tibio, tibio como un beso que calla/Y se enciende si es que acaso le quieres.” Love it!
“Bachata Rosa”
If you want to get your guy to dedicate a romantic bachata song to you—trust me, this is the one. It gets me every time.
“Bachata en Fukuoka”
This upbeat jam is one of Guerra’s more danceable bachata songs. I’ve probably heard it at every Dominican holiday party, gathering, or BBQ. The older folks tend to love it.
“Ojalá que llueva café”
If there’s one thing I’ve always appreciated about Juan Luis Guerra, it’s his talent for writing poetic lyrics. Everything about this song is creative and romantic and he’s literally just singing about how he wishes it would rain coffee in his campo. A lot of Latino coffee-lovers I know, especially appreciate this song.
“La Cosquillita”
This is one of Guerra’s more Merengue típico-sounding songs. It’s one of those jams that gets even your abuelita up and dancing.
“El Farolito”
This song is probably one of my favorite merengues from Guerra and apparently I’m not the only one who thought it was great. It’s from his sixth album Fogaraté (1994) which was actually nominated for a Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Album of the Year at the 7th Lo Nuestro Awards.
“El Niagara en bicicleta”
There’s a famous Dominican saying that goes: “Estoy pasando niagara en bicicelta” which is basically a poetic way of saying I’m going through a lot right now. This song is about experiencing every difficult thing you can imagine but addresses it in a fun, comical way. If you’ve heard a Dominican say: “Tranquillo, Bobby, tranquillo” chances are they got it from this song.
“Burbujas De Amor”
I never realized how adult this song was until I actually became an adult. It’s not just romantic but the lyrics are also incredibly sexual—in a good way of course!
“Las Avispas”
In 2004, Guerra released a Christian merengue-bachata album called “Para Ti” dedicated to his faith. “Las Avispas” is one of the most popular songs that have come from it.
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