Johnny Ventura and Special Guests @ Lehman Center October 24, 2009

JOHNNY VENTURA
With JOSEITO MATEO, CUCO VALOY, FAUSTO REY and ROBERTO DEL CASTILLO

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts continues its exciting Fall Season with the man who defined the sound of modern merengue, JOHNNY VENTURA, whose 40-year career has included over 100 recordings. Ventura, known as “El Caballo,” and his orchestra, directed by HENRY JIMENEZ, will perform such hits as “Patacón pisa'o,” “El elevador,” “Con mi comadre” and “Oye capullo” at Lehman on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 8pm. The concert will also feature renowned vocalists JOSEITO MATEO, CUCO VALOY, FAUSTO REY and ROBERTO DEL CASTILLO. The MCs for this unforgettable evening will be COCO CABRERA and EL PACHA from La Kalle 105.9FM.

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for JOHNNY VENTURA on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 8pm, are: $75, $65, $60 and $55 and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718.960.8833 (Mon. through Fri., 10am–5pm, Tues. 10am-7pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through 24-hour online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Free on-site parking is available.

Johnny Ventura, known throughout the world as the legendary merenguero, “El Caballo,” was the first Dominican composer and singer to achieve widespread fame outside of the Dominican Republic, and his popularity has brought him to the best concert halls in the world. The innovations he introduced over the course of his musical career are largely responsible for the sound of modern merengue and its place as a global pop music. Born Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano in the city of Santo Domingo, he won singing contests on radio and television that provided scholarships for music study. Forming his own orchestra in the early 1960s, Johnny Ventura Y Su Combo Show (Johnny Ventura and His Combo Show) added rock and roll elements to merengue, influenced by the early stars of American rock, including Elvis Presley, who also inspired Ventura’s famous hip movements. Ventura Y Su Combo Show performed in the 1984 movie “Blood Simple.” An endless number of hits, including “Pitaste,” “La agarradera” and “El tabaco,” have earned him a place in Tropical music history, and he is one of only a few Latin American artists who has released over 100 albums. He has also recorded with countless other artists, including Celia Cruz, Willie Chirino, Andy Montañez, Armando Manzanero, Daniela Romo, El Grupo Niche, Wilfrido Vargas and Víctor Víctor. Ventura became involved in politics in 1962 and served as Vice Mayor of Santo Domingo under Dr. José Francisco Peña Gómez from 1982 to 1986, and he was Mayor from 1998 to 2002.

Joseito Mateo earned the title “El Rey del Merengue” (merengue's king) performing the national music of his native Dominican Republic. In the 1950s, he established himself with the hit song “El Negrito del Batey” and then went on to record the lead vocals of El Gran Combo’s debut Meneame los Mangos in 1962. Along with his solid following in Latin America, Mateo also established an audience in the U.S., becoming the first Dominican to perform at Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and Radio City Music Hall.

Cuco Valoy, popularly known as “El Brujo” (the sorcerer), first attracted attention in the ‘50s in a duo with his brother Martín called Los Ahijados, playing son, the Cuban form popular in his native Dominican Republic. In the ‘70s he formed a dance band called Los Virtuosos and later El Tribu that included his son, pianist Ramón Orlando Valoy, who would become well-known in the ‘80s as bandleader Ramón Orlando. Producer Sergio George’s 1997 recording of Valoy's “Juliana” with DLG, featuring Valoy's distinctive voice, was a major Latin hit and brought Valoy's music to a new generation.

Fausto Rey, born in 1950 on the east coast of the Dominican Republic, is best known as a crooner with a smooth singing style. He was the first contemporary Dominican singer to sell out concerts at the renowned San Carlos Theater and Quisqueya Stadium. In his teens he won talent shows and formed rock bands, but after a star-making stint with the legendary Johnny Ventura’s orchestra, he became one of his country’s most beloved singer/songwriters of the 1970s, recording for Fania Records. In the ‘80s, he formed his own very popular merengue orchestra, scoring numerous hits, among them “El pájaro herido,” “Mi linda música,” and “¿Qué es lo que pasa aquí?”

Lehman Center receives support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts.

For additional information, photos, interview requests, contact:
Leah Grammatica / LGPR / Leahgram@aol.com

Official Website: http://www.lehmancenter.org/shows/ventura.html