Juan Luis Guerra was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on June 7, 1957. He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He made it to Boston with an attraction to jazz, which didn't quite work out with him. He has dedicated his career to sing and compose "merengue", "bachata" and "salsa". This is what he has been doing all of his life and has won many Latin Grammys along the way of his career.
Guerra often sings about the economic and political situation that many people living in Latin American countries have in common. He has a song called "El Costo de la Vida" (The Price of Life); he talks about all the expenses people face on a day to day basis yet the government doesn't care and these prices keep rising while people still don't earn enough money. It is very hard for poor people in these countries to survive and keep their families alive while the government keeps them prisoners and penny-less.
Although he's from the Dominican Republic he sings about neighboring Latin American countries and raises awareness of what is really going on. Although his music usually protests world situations they are usually up beat and can liven any party. Juan Luis Guerra is also a romantic and sings beautiful love songs, not just depressing protest songs.
Juan Luis Guerra will be a part of the New Orleans Jazz Fest this year. He will be performing on April 25. I am very excited to be able to see him perform since he is one of my favorite Latin artists. It's always a lot of fun to dance some "merengue", "salsa", or "bachata".
This video is very effective because we can see the contrast between the beautiful landscape which attracts tourists but at the same time the harsh reality of certain people facing their problems on a day to day basis. I am not sure what the artist is saying in this song but if it were to be about the economic situation it could be effective.
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