| Fiel a la Vega | |
|---|---|
Fiel a la Vega performing at Mayaguez, Puerto Rico |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Vega Baja and Vega Alta, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | Rock en Español |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Members | |
| Tito Auger Ricky Laureano Jorge Arraiza Pedro Arraiza |
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| Past members | |
| Papo Román | |
Fiel a la Vega is a Rock en Español band from Puerto Rico formed in 1994. Band members Tito Auger and Ricky Laureano come from the northern city of Vega Alta, while brothers Pedro Arraiza and Jorge Arraiza come from the city of Vega Baja, which is next to Vega Alta.
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Childhood friends Ricky Laureano and Tito Auger formed the band in 1994 after looking for success in the United States. Returning to Puerto Rico, they joined long-time friends Pedro and Jorge Arraiza (with whom they had played before in Los Arraiza Voladores) and officially started the band. After playing local gigs through the island, they started gaining the attention of the public and became one of the most sought bands in the island. Their television debut was in Voces en Función.
In April, 1996, the band released their eponymous album Fiel a la Vega, adding percussionist Papo Román to its line-up. The album spawned hits like "Salimos de Aquí" and "El Wanabí", both of which were released with videos. According to local newspaper El Nuevo Día, the album was among the Top 10 sellers of the year. In August 1996, the band played at Hard Rock Cafe in Old San Juan. In 1997, their first album was certified gold for selling 50,000 units.
Following the success of the album, the band held four sold-out concerts on July, 1997 in the Performing Arts Center of Guaynabo. The concert was released months later as the band's follow-up album, titled El Concierto Acústico. In the concert, the band played acoustic versions of the songs in their first album as well as covers from Latin American artists that influenced them such as Roy Brown, Leon Gieco, Silvio Rodríguez, and Haciendo Punto en Otro Son.
The band continued to enjoy the success playing in front of 30,000 people at the Claridad Festival. That night an attendance record at the festival was set. That same year, they participated in the annual special show of Banco Popular dedicated to Bobby Capó. The band performed the song "Sale el Sol" in the show.
In 1998, amidst relentless touring they released A Quien Pueda Interesar. The album was accompanied with videos for the songs "Bla, Bla, Bla", "Al Frente", and "El Panal". Following the success of this second album, they became the first Puerto Rican band to headline and sell out the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. The concert was held on June 6, 1998.
In November of the same year, they returned to the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, sharing the stage with local bands Haciendo Punto en Otro Son and Moliendo Vidrio. During the concert, the bands alternated sets performing the hit songs of each other, ending with a huge "junte" of all of the musicians singing several songs of each band. The concert was recorded and released later as an album titled Un Junte para la Historia.
In March, 1999, the band organized a series of concerts at the Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center where they performed their music with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra. In the concert, they played their hits as well as covers from Rubén Blades, Danny Rivera, Silvio Rodríguez, and Puerto Rican Salsa superstars El Gran Combo. At that time, the band finished negotiating a record deal with EMI Latin. Soon after, they released Tres being their only CD with a major label. The band produced the hit single "Canción en la Arena", "Solamente" and "Desde el Comienzo".
In April, 2000, the band toured the East Coast of the United States with shows in Miami, Orlando, New York, and Washington, DC. In June, 2000, upon returning to Puerto Rico, the band held a concert at the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum in Bayamón. In August, 2001, they collaborated with other artists in a song titled "Canción para Vieques", about the Navy-Vieques protests.
In November, 2001, they parted ways with EMI Latin. A month later, they released their second live album titled El Concierto Sinfónico. They followed it with presentations in the island and in Florida, while they began to work in their fourth studio album. The album La Prosperidad was released independently in December, 2002 with the single "Hay que Edificar". They supported it with a national tour through all the island finishing on May 31, 2002, with a concert at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum.
In 2005, writer and long-time personal friend of the band Edgardo Soto released a biography of the band that coincided with the release of their 10th anniversary album, Desde el Comienzo: 1994-2004.
On October 11, 2006, percussionist Papo Román communicated by a letter to his " friends, press, musicians and dear fieles" that he will be quitting the band after ten long years with them. He stated that, despite not regretting the time spent with the band, he needed to slow down and dedicate time to his family. Román is the father of six children, two of them teenage daughters.
In 2007, the band was selected along with several Latin rock groups to be part of a marketing campaign from Absolut Vodka. The campaign features the popular Absolut bottle silhouette using the motif of Fiel a la Vega's first album. The other bands selected were Los Amigos Invisibles (Venezuela), Charly García (Argentina), Los Jaivas (Chile) and Aterciopelados (Colombia).[1]
In March 2007, the band recorded a live concert at the Ambassador Hotel in San Juan. At the end of the year, the concert was released in a DVD titled Sesiones: 10 Años Acústicos y Eléctricos. Also, according to their website, they started working on a new album.
In April 2008, the band played at the Movistar Music Fest 2008 in Panama, with Tego Calderón, Calle 13, and Zion.
In early 2010, the band released the first single from their next album. The album, titled Equilibrio, was released on February 9, 2010.[2][3] On December of that year, the band started a series of concerts on the cities of San Juan, Ponce, and Mayaguez. The concert in San Juan was supposed to be held at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, but due to ongoing strikes and protests at the university against the government, the band moved it to the Centro de Bellas Artes in Caguas. During the concert, lead singer Tito Auger heavily criticized the government for its handling of the crisis at the university and the current state of the country. "In recent years, it has been made more evident that the alleged democracy that protects us is only a mask for the media, a simple slogan. We are dominated by a plutocracy, which is an industrial, business, and political class, that is getting stronger and richer" said Auger.[4]
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Salimos de Aquí" | Fiel a la Vega |
| "El Wanabí" | ||
| 1998 | "Bla, Bla, Bla" | A Quien Pueda Interesar |
| "Al Frente" | ||
| "El Panal" | ||
| 1999 | "Canción en la Arena" | Tres |
| 2000 | "Solamente" | |
| "Desde el Comienzo" | ||
| 2002 | "Hay Que Edificar" | La Prosperidad |
| 2003 | "A Quien Pueda Interesar" | |
| "Maniqueismo" | ||
| 2010 | "Turísticamente Bien" | Equilibrio |
In 2005, writer Edgardo Soto released a biography of the band titled Salimos de Aquí: La Biografía de File a la Vega. The book includes facts about the band's formation and their rise to fame in the mid-90s.
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