Background and career
Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [wilˈfɾiðo ˈβaɾɣas]; born 24 April 1949) is a Dominican musician, composer, arranger and band leader. He was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide phenomenon. He was surrounded by musical influences; namely, his father Ramón, an accordionist and guitarist, and his mother Bienvenida, a flute player and guitarist. Vargas began his musical studies early, attending the Municipal Academy of Music beginning at age 10.
He began his career with the band Wilfrido Vargas y sus Beduinos by recording his first album in 1972. In 1976, Vargas and his band, Wilfrido Vargas y Sus Beduinos, performed at the Madison Square Garden alongside Los Hijos del Rey. In 1978, he released the song El Barbarazo which helped catapult his popularity in Latin America. It was also his first international hit. Alongside many Latin music artists, he performed during the 1979 music festival Havana Jam with the Fania All-Stars.
During the 1980s, he formed and directed many successful merengue groups including Las Chicas Del Can, The New York Band and Altamira Banda Show. He had international commercial success with songs such as "El Jardinero", "La Medicina", "El Africano" and "El Loco y La Luna". Vargas appeared in the 1989 film "Que viva el merengue y la lambada".
He was nominated in 1991 for the 33rd Grammy Awards in the Best Tropical Latin Performance for his album Animation. He won a "Gaviota de Plata" (Silver Seagull) in the 1992 Viña del Mar International Song Festival. In 1993, he was decorated by the Dominican president Joaquín Balaguer with the Order of Christopher Columbus in the Knight grade, alongside fellow Dominican musicians Jorge Taveras, Manuel Tejada and Julio Gautreaux for their contribution to the development and dissemination of the national music. The song "El Africano" from his 1983 album "El Funcionario" was the basis for the 1991 hit single, "Mami El Negro" by Cuban-American rapper DJ Laz. For the telenovela Bellísima, Wilfrido performed the theme song, "Amor Casual" and also performed the song "Que Será" for the 1997 film Out to Sea.
In 2003 he acted in the drama film"Exito por intercambio". Vargas participated in 2007 at the Colombian version of The X Factor, as the groups mentor. Today Vargas is one of the best-known artists in Latin America with hit songs such as "El Africano" (written by Calixto Ochoa), "Abusadora", "Comején", "A Mover la Colita", "El Baile del Perrito" and "Volveré". As of 2010, he lives in Colombia.
Best Tropical Latin Performance – Animation (1990)
