The New York Band is one of the most important merengue groups of the Dominican diaspora, based in the city it is named after.
A space and a time when they shared with other groups such as Milly & Los Vecinos or La Gran Manzana.
There were many songs that lead to the top of the popular flavor, from “Cole” to “Dancing Mood”, to “If you are my man” or “Heart of sugar”, in the second half of the eighties.
Formed by Wilfrido Vargas and Chery Jiménez, they wanted to create a musical group that would reveal the stories of the Dominican in New York and the youthful aspect of the merengue of the time.
Today, with 35 years of musical journey, they catch up and prepare “The New York Band for the world”, their first virtual concert.
The detail that it will be a show that can be enjoyed from a distance, implying no interaction with the audience.
This is something that will be a bit strange to them, according to singer Irisneyda, who along with Franklin Rivers (director, singer and trombonist of the orchestra), Johnny Contreras, Rubén Ariel, Tony Swing and Maité, the latter the most recent who came to the band. “Everything is very positive, each one contributes to our interest, our art in every independent exhibition we do,” Irisneyda tells LISTÍN DIARIO.
Durability
The fact that this group remains in the public’s taste after more than three decades attributes it to the vision that Chery Jiménez always held. “The songs we recorded years ago today sound up to date,” he says.
Another detail that he remembers that gave the band a different touch from the others at the time, and that gave them a modern and current edge, was the vision of the former leader of La Tercera Brigada and Los Beduinos, who sent pad to watch. for them are specific style of wardrobe, closer to rock exponents of the time than to merengue.
Interpreter of songs like “Sin”, it is an example of the democracy this orchestra had from the beginning when it came to giving their place to female voices. “I can say in particular that they gave us our space, there were times when the voices of women, of a man, were projected,” explains Irisneyda.
Remember that when she started The New York Band, it was much more difficult for a woman to devote herself to making meringue, but she understands that because of the doors Milly and Fefita opened for us, her work was a little easier.
Sin Cherito
While it won’t be his first performance after Cherito’s death, he understands that this performance is going to be a challenge for everyone. “We are not emotionally prepared, is all I can tell you. But we are all going to defend that legacy, ”says the artist.
Leader of the New York Band, José Bienvenido Jiménez Sosa, full name of Cherito, son of Chery Jiménez, died in July 2019 at the age of 50.
Among the guests of the concert is the singer Alexandra Taveras, who was an icon of the band and played an important role between 1987 and 1991.
The production, shipping and administration of this show are the responsibility of mediaXtreme LLC, a company founded by Dominicans, and made up of a great team based out of New York, USA, and also the Dominican Republic.
Artistic entrepreneurs from different countries, such as: Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, the Canary Islands, Costa Rica, Panama, are collaborating with the company mediaXtreme, responsible for managing The New York Band, in its new phase.