Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; 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.
Career
1970s 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.
1980s 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 , , and . Vargas appeared in the 1989 film .
1990s He was nominated in 1991 for the 33rd Grammy Awards in the Best Tropical Latin Performance for his album Animation. He won a (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 from his 1983 album was the basis for the 1991 hit single, by Cuban-American rapper DJ Laz.
For the telenovela Bellísima, Wilfrido performed the theme song, and also performed the song for the 1997 film Out to Sea.
2000s In 2003 he acted in the drama film.
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 (written by Calixto Ochoa), , , , and .
As of 2010, he lives in Colombia.
Discography TitleYearChartTropical SongsWilfrido Vargas y sus Beduinos1973-El semáforo1974-Merengues instrumentales1974-El jarro pichao1975-En el Madison Square Garden1976-¡Por el Campeonato Mundial! 1977-Haciendo historia1979-¡Punto y aparte!1978-Internacional1979-Evolución1979-El jeque1980-Abusadora1981-Wilfrido Vargas & Sandy Reyes1982-El Funcionario1983-El Jardinero19843El Africano1984-La Medicina19852Vida, Canción y Suerte198617La Música19874El Baile19872Más Que Un Loco19889Animation19899Éxitos de19909Siempre Wilfrido19905Amor Casual1991-Itinerario19925Usted Se Queda Aquí1994-El Extraterrestre1995-Wilfrido Vargas y Sus Consentidas1996-Hoy1997-Raíces1998-www.wilfrido-vargas.com2000-Dos Generaciones2002-El Único2002-Serie platino2000-Serie 20002000-10 éxitos de oro2000-16 éxitos2000-16 éxitos 22001-Oro de Oro2001-Dos generaciones2002-El único2002-Juntos2002-Colección diamante2003-Raíces 2 2004-Grandes éxitos2005-2 grandes voces del merengue2007-15 éxitos2008-Los 30 mejores éxitos2012-Los Mejor 40 Grandes2012-Lo Mejor De Mi...2013-Éxitos y Mucho Más2014-Merengue Mix 22015-60 y algo Más2015-Mi Historia 12016-Mi Historia 22016-La Música Vol, 22017- Albums that did not chart are denoted with an "—".
Grammy Nomination Best Tropical Latin Performance – Animation (1990)
Filmography Film Year Film Role1989Que Viva el Merengue y la LambadaHimself2003Éxito Por IntercambioHimself
References