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Juan Luis GuerraJuan Luis Guerra (born June 7, 1957, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican singer and songwriter best known for popularizing the merengue. After a year of study in philosphy and literature at the Universidad Autnoma de Santo Domingo, he switched to the Conservatorio Nacional de Msica where he finished his undergraduate study. Guerra was a great admirer at this time of the nueva cancin, embodied by Pablo Milans, Silvio Rodrguez and Facundo Cabral. After finishing his study at the Santo Domingo conservatory, Guerra went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston to study composition and arranging. After his return to the Dominican Republic, he released his first album, Soplando (1984) with a group of local musicians which subsequently became known as Juan Luis Guerra y los 440. Two albums followed, Mudanza y Acarreo and Mientras ms lo pienso ... t. Although they saw little acclaim internationally, the band garnered some fame in their country, resulting in them being nominated to represent the Dominican Republic at the prestigious Festival OTI. Their next album, in 1988, brought them international fame. Ojal que Llueva Cafe became a number one hit in many Latin American countries, with the hit song of the same name. Subsequently, a video of the hit song was filmed and Juan Luis Guerra and his 440 band began touring. (The song's fame was revived in 1996 with a cover by Caf Tacuba). In 1991, they released their next album, Bachata Rosa, which also became a major hit. Guerra became a controversial figure in the Dominican Republic after he released his next album, Areito. He protested against the poor conditions many Dominicans live in, and some of his countrymen felt that he wasn't the most appropriate person to protest, alleging that Guerra, in their opinion, had never faced poverty. That situation might have done something to do with his next album, Fogarat (1995), where he stayed away from singing any protests. One of his most recent albums, Ni es lo Mismo ni es Igual (1998), proved to be a critically acclaimed work. It won three Grammys, which were given to him at the 2000 Latin Grammy awards. In 2004, Guerra released his first new album in six years. Entitled "Para Ti", the album's songs are mostly religious in nature, reflecting Guerra's conversion to evangelical Christianity. Guerra is the uncle-in-law of Miss Universe 2003, Amelia Vega. Guerra, Juan Luis
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