Johnny Ventura

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Johnny Ventura (born Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano, March 8, 1940, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican merengue composer and singer, the first to achieve widespread fame outside of the Dominican Republic. He is known throughout the world as the legendary Merenguero, "El Caballo".

"Johnny" was a stage name given to him to avoid any family resemblance with a fame Trujillo pilot that betrayed him and later became a member of the anti-trujillist movement that landed in Constanza on the 14th of June 1959 named Juan de Dios Ventura Simo.

Ventura and his orchestra, the "Combo Show", added rock and roll elements to the genre in the early 1960s, influenced by the early stars of American rock (including Elvis Presley). His hits include "Patacón pisao", "Pitaste", "El elevador", "La agarradera", "Capullo y Sorrullo", "filete" and "El tabaco," and has recorded over 100 albums. He continued to record into the 1990s.