Aventura (formerly known as Los Tinellers) is an American bachata group formed in The Bronx, New York. With the lineup always consisting of the members Romeo Santos, Henry Santos, Lenny Santos (Len Melody), and Max Santos (Max Agende), they are regarded as one of the most influential Latin groups of all time. All of the members are of Dominican descent, although Romeo is also half Puerto Rican on his mother's side. They were the first major bachata act to have originated in the United States instead of the Dominican Republic. The group was integral to the evolution of bachata music and are the pioneers of the modern bachata sound.
Aventura released five studio albums in a decade, creating many top 10 hits like "Obsesión", "Cuándo Volverás", "Un Beso", "Mi Corazoncito", "Los Infieles", "El Perdedor", "Por un Segundo", "Dile al Amor", among others. They have sold out many arenas including the world famous Madison Square Garden. Aventura has been nominated for awards such as American Music Awards, the Latin Grammy Awards, Billboard Latin Music Awards, and Premio Lo Nuestro. Aventura is one of the most internationally recognized Latin groups of the last two decades and frequently refer to themselves as "K.O.B.", or "Kings of Bachata".
History Formation, starting as Los Tinellers, and Trampa de Amor (1993–1996) In 1993, Lenny Santos and his brother Max Santos formed a little band with a cousin of theirs and called themselves Banda Sueño. They would play mostly as a hobby. It did not last long, as the cousin was much older than Max and Lenny. They decided to look for a new singer around their age who could help them take their music career more seriously. Lenny was later introduced to Anthony via one of the group's musicians named Roney Fernandez, who attended the same school as Anthony. They clicked instantly, and the two started working on songs together. Anthony was a singer and composer who would sing with his cousin Henry at their local church choir. Anthony later introduced Lenny to his cousin Henry, who also joined the group. These four would form Los Tinellers, which is the word 'teenagers' but spelled in Spanish letters so non-English speaking Hispanics could pronounce it. The group would perform for their neighbors, at local stores, and in the streets for free in the Bronx.
On July 9, 1995, the group was discovered by Elvin Polanco. Polanco was the coordinator of the 1995 Bronx Dominican Parade. Lenny and Anthony asked him if they could perform on stage at the parade. Polanco gave them the opportunity and was impressed by the group. Seeing the potential in the group, he became their manager and helped them record their first studio album, despite having little funds. They released their first album in 1996 titled Trampa De Amor under Elca Productions. The album included songs that would be remade for later Aventura albums. One of them was "Cuándo Volverás", which would later become their debut single. Unfortunately, only Anthony and Lenny were on the cover because of Henry and Max being late due to train traffic. The album did not do well commercially, selling a total of five copies.
Re-invented as Aventura, creating urban bachata, and Generation Next (1996–2000) In 1996, with the help of new manager Julio César García, the group created a new image. He re-invented the group to resemble popular American boy bands. He renamed the group Aventura, which is Spanish for "adventure". Later on, Elvin Polanco ran into some health problems which ended things between him and the group. In 1998, they signed a record deal with Premium Latin Music, Inc. With the help of the executive of the label, Franklin Romero, the group had the support they needed to finally expand and breakthrough in the music industry. Romero was also involved in the re-invention of the group becoming more boy band like.
On November 9, 1999, they released their debut album Generation Next along with a modernized and better known version of "Cuándo Volverás" as its main single in hopes of breaking bachata music into the mainstream from its traditional base. They slowly began to gather fans in Dominican Republic and in the east coast of the United States, especially in the cities of New York, Boston and Lancaster. The group was the first to experiment with fusing bachata with other genres like R&B, pop, hip-hop, reggae and rock. They were one of the first bachata acts to sing a bachata song in Spanglish (English and Spanish). The group innovated bachata with fresh lyrics that incorporated songs with different themes. They created their own tone in bachata guitar by adding guitar effects such as the wah, phaser, distortion, tremolo, and harmonizer. They also innovated the bachata bass with the use of bass techniques such as slapping, bass slides, and a lot of rock bass riffs into bachata. This would eventually lead to the creation of what is now known as urban bachata. While the album did have some success, it did not exceed expectations as the group was heavily criticized about the new style and the fact that they had added English in to the genre.
We Broke the Rules, Anthony becoming Romeo, and the expansion of bachata (2001–2003) While at the beginning they didn't get the mainstream attention they were looking for with their debut album, the style they had introduced did help make the genre mainstream. In 2001, four songs were leaked to the public which were for their second studio album. The songs were "Todavía Me Amas", "Amor De Madre", "Enséñame A Olvidar", and "Obsesión" which featured Dominican-American singer Judy Santos. Thanks to the success of "Obsesión", the group got the big break they were waiting for and would eventually turn them into the icons that they are today. The song achieved huge success in many countries. It peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart in the U.S. It also topped many European charts by peaking at number 1 in seven countries, which made it peak at number 1 on the Eurochart Hot 100. This would expand bachata internationally as it reached countries where the genre was never heard before at the time. This would also be the start for Judy as a female vocalist for the group as she would eventually work for them in other songs.
Around this time, Anthony decided to go under the name Romeo Santos. He created an alter ego to be a more romantic character on stage to help him with his shyness. He came up with the name Romeo because of the song "Todavía Me Amas" in which he mentions Romeo and Juliet. This was also due to the fact there is another bachata artist by the name Antony Santos, who was the man that inspired him to become a bachata singer. Romeo would refer to himself as Anthony Santos from Aventura to be specific. Even though both singers had their names spelled differently, it was still pronounced the same way. This led the group and the record label to make the decision to have Anthony go under the name he is known today, Romeo Santos.
On July 2, 2002, they would release their second album under the Aventura name title We Broke the Rules. It peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart. It also peaked at number 1 in the French and Italian albums charts. The album would feature Judy Santos and Puerto Rican-American singer Toby Love, who worked for them as a back up vocalist until he left in 2005 to pursue a solo career. His voice was used for the songs "I Believe" and "Gone", a cover of the NSYNC song. In the same year, they would release their first live album titled En Vivo. It was based on their 2002 show at the United Palace in New York City. It was re-released in Europe on August 30, 2004, and renamed Unplugged. On January 11, 2011, it was released to the world under the title Live! 2002. In 2003, they released their first concert film, Aventura in Concert: Sold Out at the United Palace.
Love & Hate, God's Project, and mainstream breakthrough in the U.S. (2003–2006) In 2003, the group released the main single for their third studio album titled "Hermanita". The song addressed issue like domestic violence, especially the mistreatment of women in the household. The song peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart and at number 3 on the Billboard Tropical Songs chart. On November 18, 2003, they released their third studio album, Love & Hate. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Tropical Albums chart and at number 3 in the Swiss albums chart. It is their first album to earn a gold and platinum certification in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 2004, they released a special edition that was exclusive to Italy. It featured edited versions of the songs "Cuándo volverás" and "Obsesión". They released a 2005 edition as well that was released exclusively for Romania. In 2005, they released their second concert film, The Love & Hate Concert: Sold Out at the United Palace. It is based on a concert for Love & Hate that took place at the United Palace in New York City.
In February 2005, they released their first single for their fourth studio album "La Boda". It peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Tropical Airplay chart. On April 26, 2005, they released their fourth studio album, God's Project. This is their first album distributed by Sony Music Latin. On the Billboard charts, it peaked at number 133 on the Billboard 200, at number 5 on both Heatseekers Albums and Top Latin Albums charts, and at number 1 on the Tropical Albums chart making it the group's first number one album on that chart. It is considered the group's mainstream breakthrough album as they started to get more mainstream publicity in the United States. It was the best-selling tropical album of 2006 in the United States and was certified 4× platinum in the U.S. by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album featured collaborations with Judy Santos, Anthony 'El Mayimbe' Santos, Nina Sky, Don Omar, and Tego Calderón who was featured in a hidden track. This album also featured the songs "Ella y Yo", "Un Beso", and "Angelito" which were released as singles later on.
On May 9, 2005, "Ella y Yo" was released as the album's second single. It featured Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Don Omar. It peaked at 97 on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 2 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and at number one on both the Latin Rhythm and Tropical Airplay Billboard charts. The music video was released in the same year. It took place in a bar. The video is about Romeo Santos and Don Omar having a conversation about love. On August 8, 2005, "Un Beso" was released as the third a single. It became the main single for the fourth studio album. The group paid tribute to Spanish musician Manzanita in this song. It peaked at number 6 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and at number 2 on the Tropical Airplay chart. Later that year, "Angelito" was released as the last single and peaked at 17 on the Tropical Airplay chart. This would also be the last song to feature Judy Santos as she would embark in her own music career. On March 10, 2006, Aventura would perform a sold-out show at The Theater at Madison Square Garden making it their first live performance at MSG.
K.O.B. Live and selling out Madison Square Garden (2006–2008)