| Antony Santos | |
|---|---|
Santos performing |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | El Mayimbe |
| Born | May 5, 1967 Villa Vasquez, Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic |
| Genres | Bachata |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Associated acts | Luis Vargas |
Antony Santos is a bachata musician from the Dominican Republic, renowned for his role in redefining the genre to include romantic music.
Santos entered onto the scene in the early 1990s, beginning his career as the guira player for fellow bachatero Luis Vargas, only to leave the group and maintain a very public feud with Vargas that would last until Vargas' career faded into obscurity. Santos became the first rural bachatero to reach a mainstream audience, with his hit "Voy pa'llá", shortly after Blas Durán had introduced the electric guitar into the genre. Santos' adoption of soft romantic lyrics was more socially accepted than the bawdy style common to bachata before him, and he shortly became the genre's leading artist, helping move bachata into the mainstream. Santos has helped define the sound of modern bachata, mainly through his use of a chorus pedal and the Yamaha APX series of guitars (with a Gibson Classic Humbucker mounted in the soundhole).
His hit songs include: "Voy Pa Lla", "Cuantos Dias Mas", "Vete y Alejate de Mi", "Un Muerto Vivo", "Por Mi Timidez", "Pegame Tu Vicio", "Corazon Culpable", "Pequeño Huracan" and "Muchos Cambios" among others.
Santos is currently the best paid bachatero in the Dominican Republic. He held a concert at Puerto Rico's Roberto Clemente Coliseum on May 12, 2007, and his record label is said to have been paid an unprecedented US$90,000 for this one presentation alone.
Antony Santos (1996) [1] a movie by Frédéric Pelle (52’) : In Santo Domingo everyone listens and dances to "bachata" which is the poor and oppressed classes' means of expression. Anthony Santos is the star of this today, adulated by his fans who admire him for having remained very close to them. This is a portrait of the musician with excerpts from concerts. [2]