Luis, (Spanish form), Luís (Portuguese and Galician), Lois (archaic Galician), Lluís (Catalan form), or Luiz (archaic use in Portugal, but common in Brazil) is a masculine given name related to Louis.

List of people with the given name Luis[link]

Royalty of Portugal

• Luís I of Portugal (1838–1889), Portuguese king
• Infante Luis (1340-1340), first son of King Pedro I of Portugal
• Prince Luís, Duke of Beja (1506-1555)
• Luís Filipe, Prince Royal of Portugal (1887-1908)

Sports

• Luis Alberto González, Colombian cyclist
• Luis Alberto Pérez, Nicaraguan boxer
• Luis Alberto Pérez-Rionda, Cuban runner
• Luis Alberto Suárez, Uruguayan football player
• Luis Amaranto Perea, Colombian football player
• Luiz Antonio dos Santos, Brazilian long-distance runner
• Luis Antonio Jiménez, Chilean football player
• Luis Aragonés, Spanish football player and manager
• Luiz Azeredo, Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter
• Luis Caballero, Paraguayan football player
• Lluís Carreras, Spanish football player
• Luis Antonio Castillo, Dominican baseball player
• Luis Alberto Castillo, Dominican-American football player
• Luis Cristaldo, Bolivian football player
• Luis de Milán, Spanish composer
• Luis Díaz, Venezuelan volleyball player
• Luis Dutra Jr., Brazilian mixed martial arts fighter
• Luis Enrique Martínez García, Spanish football player and manager
• Luis Ernesto Guzmán, Honduran football player
• Luis Ernesto José, Dominican boxer
• Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican football goalkeeper
• Luís Fabiano, Brazilian football player
• Luis Fernando Suárez, Colombian football player and manager
• Luís Figo, Portuguese football player
• Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazilian football player and manager
• Luis García Sanz, Spanish football player
• Luis Galván, Argentine football player
• Luis Gonzalez, Cuban-American baseball player
• Luiz Gustavo, Brazilian football player
• Luis Manuel Rodríguez, Cuban boxer
• Luis Marín, Costa Rican football player
• Luís Martins, Portuguese football player
• Luis Monti, Italian and Argentine football player and manager
• Luís Novo, Portuguese long-distance runner
• Luis Olmo, Puerto Rican baseball player
• Luis Onmura, Brazilian judoka
• Luis Ortiz, Puerto Rican boxer
• Luis Palomino, Peruvian mixed martial arts fighter
• Luis Pizarro, Puerto Rican boxer
• Luis Orlando Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player
• Luis Rodríguez, Puerto Rican volleyball player Luis Rodríguez
• Luis Salvadores Salvi, Chilean basketball player
• Luís Santos, Brazilian water polo goalkeeper
• Luis Soares, Portuguese-French long-distance runner
• Luis Somoza Debayle, former president of Nicaragua
• Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish football player and manager
• Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
• Luis Tiant, Cuban-American baseball player
• Luis Villar, Argentine basketball player
• Luis Villarroel, Venezuelan diver
• Luis Vizcaíno, Dominican baseball player

Arts and entertainment

• Luis Antonio Ramos, Puerto Rican actor
• Luis Antonio Rivera, Puerto Rican television host
• Luis Buñuel, Spanish film director
• Lluís Claret, Andorran cellist
• Luiz Ejlli, Albanian singer
• Luis Enrique, Nicaraguan singer
• Luis Fernando Vager, Puerto Rican musician and producer
• Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican singer
• Luis Gatica, Mexican-Chilean-Puerto Rican actor and singer
• Luiz Gonzaga, Brazilian singer
• Luis Guzmán, a Puerto Rican actor
• Luis Roberto Guzmán, a Puerto Rican actor
• Lluís Llach, Catalan composer
• Luis Miguel, Mexican singer
• Luis Oquendo, Cuban actor
• Luis "Perico" Ortiz, Puerto Rican musician
• Luis Segura, Dominican singer
• Luis Vargas, Dominican singer
• Luis Vigoreaux Lorenzana, Puerto Rican television host
• Luis Vigoreaux Rivera, Puerto Rican television host

Politicians

• Luis Alberto de Herrera, Uruguayan politician
• Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo, former Governor of Puerto Rico (1969-1973)
• Luis Alberto Lacalle, former president of Uruguay
• Luis Ángel González Macchi, former president of Paraguay
• Lluís Companys i Jover, Catalan politician
• Luis Conrado Batlle y Berres, former president of Uruguay
• Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
• Luis María del Corazón de Jesús Dionisio Argaña Ferraro, Paraguayan politician
• Luis R. Esteves, Major General, Puerto Rican-American military leader
• Luis Fortuño, Governor of Puerto Rico (2009-present)
• Luis Gutiérrez, Puerto Rican-American political leader
• Luis Muñoz Marín, first democratically elected governor of Puerto Rico
• Luis Muñoz Rivera, Puerto Rican politician and father of Luis Muñoz Marín

Writer

• Luis Llorens Torres, Puerto Rican playwright and poet
• Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican writer
• Luis Palés Matos, Puerto Rican author

Other

• Luis F. Alvarez, Spanish-American physician (grandfather of Luis W. Alvarez)
• Luis W. Álvarez, Spanish-American physcist, winner of the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physics
• Luis Aponte Martínez, Puerto Rican religious leader
• Luis E. Arreaga, Guatemalan-American diplomat
• Luis Carrillo, Spanish colonial administrator
• Luis de Moscoso Alvarado, Spanish explorer and conquistador
• Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Catalan architect
• Luis Enríquez de Guzmán, 9th Count of Alba de Liste, Spanish nobleman
• Luis Jacob, Peruvian-Canadian visual artists and photographer
• Luis Muñoz de Guzmán, a Spanish colonial administrator
• Luis González Vale, Puerto Rican historian
• Luis Guinot, Puerto Rican-American diplomat
• Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian communications minister
• Luis Lliboutry, French-Chilean glaciologist
• Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, fictional character on NBC's daytime drama Passions
• Luis Marden, American photographer
• Luis Miranda Casañas, Puerto Rican businessman
• Luis Née, explorer, botanist, discovered Coast Live Oak in California
• Luis Padial, Puerto Rican military leader
• Luis Posada Carriles, Cuban militant
• Luis Rafael Sánchez, Puerto Rican playwright
• Luis Sera, a character in Resident Evil 4

See also[link]

• Louis (given name)
• Lewis (given name)

This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

Luis Miguel
Background information
Birth name	Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri
Also known as	El Sol de México, "Luismi", "Micky"
Born	(1970-04-19) April 19, 1970 (age 42) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Origin	Mexico
Genres	Latin pop, pop music, bolero, mariachi
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocal, piano
Years active	1981–present
Labels	EMI Latin (1981-1986) Warner Music (1987-present)
Associated acts	Frank Sinatra Armando Manzanero Manuel Alejandro Sheena Easton
Website	Official website

Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (April 19, 1970) is a Mexican singer.^[1][2] He is widely known only by the name Luis Miguel. An icon in the Spanish-speaking countries, he is often referred to as "El Sol de México" (The Sun of Mexico) or simply "El Sol" (The Sun).^[3][4]

Beginning his musical career in his childhood, Luis Miguel has won five Grammys and four Latin Grammys among other numerous awards.^[5] He is considered as one of the top male pop vocalists in the world nowadays. His contribution to Latin pop music, along with his hermetic personal life, has made him a global figure of Latin music for almost three decades. He debuted on the professional music at 11 years old. At the age of fifteen, Luis Miguel received his first Grammy for his duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" (I Like You Just The Way You Are) with Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1991, the RIAA gave him a recognition for the high sales of the albums Romance and Segundo Romance.^[3] Luis Miguel is the only Latin artist to have two Spanish-language albums (Romance and Segundo Romance) go platinum in the USA. He has achieved a long string of distinctions. Also among those was having his album Luis Miguel achieve gold and platinum certifications in four countries, including the United States, within just three days of its release.

Luis Miguel is also known by his high-grossing tours and his outstanding live performances. His Amarte Es Un Placer Tour had a length of 8 months during 1999–2000 and run through 8 countries in two continents. The tour consisted of 105 concerts and was attended by approximately 1.5 million fans. It was the highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist, as well as the most extended. These two records have been broken by his Mexico En La Piel Tour of 2005–2007, with a total of 124 concerts, over 1.4 millions spectators, and grossing over $95 million.

Early life[link]

He was named Luis Miguel in honor of fame Spanish bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín.^[6] Although Luis Miguel has lived almost his entire life in Mexico, he was born in Puerto Rico, where his father performed occasionally as a singer. His parents were Spanish singer Luisito Rey and Italian actress Marcella Basteri.^[7] Luis Miguel has two younger brothers. His father was from Cadiz, a city in southwestern Spain. During his child years, his father, who was also his manager, encouraged him to watch and analyze nearly every movie, recording, and concert performance of Elvis Presley.^[7] Luis Miguel's mother was from Carrara, Italy. She disappeared mysteriously in 1986, when he was a teenager. Luis Miguel spent much of his childhood in Spain and Italy as well.^[7]

Career[link]

In 1981, at the age of 11, Luis Miguel released his first album, Un Sol, by the Mexican branch of EMI Records.^[8] Two years later, he started touring Latin American countries including Colombia, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.

In 1985, at age of 15, he took part at the Sanremo Music Festival, where he won the second place award with his song "Noi Ragazzi Di Oggi".^[7] That same year, he was also presented with the "Antorcha de Plata" Award in the Viña del Mar Music Festival for his duet single "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" ("I Like You Just As You Are") with Scottish singer Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1984, he co-starred in the film Ya Nunca Más and in 1985, Fiebre de Amor with singer Lucero as his co-star.^[7]

In 1986, Luis Miguel gave his career a brief break, as his relationship with his father was souring due to alleged mismanagement, poor financial decisions and risking his earnings of his career. Shortly after signing with Warner Records, in 1987, he fired his father and started to work with Juan Carlos Calderón.^[7] Luis Miguel's album Soy Como Quiero Ser in May 1987 sold well.^[7] The album featured hits such as "Cuando Calienta El Sol", "Ahora Te Puedes Marchar", and "Yo Que No Vivo Sin Ti".

On November 25, 1988, Luis Miguel's second album Busca Una Mujer was released. The first single La Incondicional became a top-ten hit throughout Latin America in the first half of 1989,^[7] thanks in part to the music video. The video was shocking to many fans as he had cut his signature long hair. This cemented his transition from a child star into an adult superstar. By the end of 1989, the second single Fría Como El Viento reached No. 1 on the Hot Latin Tracks.^[9] He also had a top-ten single Separados in early 1990, peaking at #8.

In 1990, he made a successful transition from a child singer to an adult showman with the album 20 Años and an ensuing string of sold-out shows first in Mexico then throughout Latin America and elsewhere in the world. 20 Años which sold 600,000 copies in its first week of release,^[7] resulted in release of three singles Tengo Todo Excepto A Ti, Entrégate, Amante Del Amor with the two former hitting number 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks in 1990.^[9]

In 1991, Luis Miguel's career went to even greater heights and earned him the respect of a wider audience with the release of Romance, an album of romantic boleros, most of them from the 1940s and 1950s. He has been credited with reinventing the bolero for modern audiences. The album Romance, which became his most successful material ever eventually sold 15 million units worldwide.^[7]

In 1993, Luis Miguel's fifth studio album, Aries, was released, which won him that year's Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop Album.^[3] That same year, Luis Miguel was personally invited by Frank Sinatra to join him on his Duets II album and to perform live in a nationally televised special in honor of Sinatra's 80th birthday; along with other stars such as Stevie Wonder and Natalie Cole.^[7]

In 1994, he released a sequel to Romance, Segundo Romance, featuring Luis Miguel as a convincing pop singer with mastery over timeless Latin classics such as "Solamente Una Vez" and "Sin Ti". The album went on to earn a Grammy Award^[3] as well as reaching a Platinum status in the United States.^[10]

In 1996, Luis received a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.^[3] Soon after, Luis Miguel quickly returned to the studios and released Nada Es Igual, a pop album featuring "Sueña", the main theme for Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame.^[3] In 1997, Luis Miguel released his third album of the bolero series Romances, which earned him a World Music Award and another Grammy Award.^[7]

In 1999, Luis Miguel released his ninth studio album Amarte Es Un Placer which, in 2000, earned him two Latin Grammys for being Best Album of the Year and Best Pop Album of the Year.^[3] The single "O Tú, O Ninguna" of Amarte Es Un Placer became number 1 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks and perched at the top position for eight consecutive weeks.^[9] Following the success of Amarte Es Un Placer, Luis Miguel released Mis Romances in 2001, his fourth album in the bolero series. The album, which sold over two million copies worldwide was followed by the launch of Mis Romances Tour which took place throughout the U.S., Europe, and Latin America.

In 2003, Luis Miguel released his first pop album in over four years entitled 33, indicative of his age. The album, which featured a collection of ballads and uptempo songs climbed to number 1 on Billboard's Latin Charts earning Luis Miguel two Billboard Awards as well as Grammy and Latin Grammy award nominations.^[8] On the 33 Tour, Luis Miguel filled the largest halls in the U.S., toured throughout Latin America and in Chile where his album 33 sold 2.5 million copies (more records than any other artist in the history of Chile).^[8] He also performed at Mexico's sold-out National Auditorium, and various sold-out shows at Buenos Aires, as well as other prestigious international venues such as Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Spain. That same year, Prince Felipe of Spain presented him with a special award for being the best-selling foreign artist in his country's history, and hosted a special party in his honor in Madrid.^[7]

In 2004, Luis Miguel released his Mexico En La Piel. The album, which was a collection of traditional Mexican mariachi songs went on to sell three million copies worldwide.^[11] He launched his Mexico En La Piel Tour in 2005. In 2006, Luis Miguel performed thirty sold out shows between January 18 and February 27 at the National Auditorium in Mexico City.^[7] The 123-date tour started in September 2005 in Mexico which then stretched to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.

Luis Miguel in 2005

In 2005, Luis Miguel released Grandes Exitos, his first greatest hits album, that featured his greatest songs he recorded during all his career, including two never-released singles: "Misterios Del Amor" and "Si Te Perdiera".

That same year, he released a Christmas album called Navidades. The playlist includes many Christmas standards in Spanish. The album reached number one on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart during the first week of its release.^[12] The album released two singles "Santa Claus Llegó A La Ciudad" ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), and "Mi Humilde Oración" ("My Grown-up Christmas List").

On May 6, 2008, Luis Miguel released Cómplices, produced by him and written by Spanish composer Manuel Alejandro. It sold almost 350,000 copies in the first 24 hours.^[13] The first single, "Si Tú Te Atreves" was released on April 7, 2008, the second single of the album was "Te Desean". His Complices Tour began in Seattle, Washington on September 3, 2008.

Luis Miguel released his self-titled studio album on September 14, 2010. Its first single "Labios de Miel" is a smooth Latin pop song. His current world tour started on November 4, 2010 in the city of Lima, Peru and runs through the United States, South America, Mexico and Spain among other countries.^[14] On February 22, 2012, he sang at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival. With one million dollars for his performance, he became the most expensive artist in the history of the festival.

Summary of Distinctions[link]

At the age of fifteen, Luis Miguel received a Grammy Award for his duet "Me Gustas Tal Como Eres" (I Like You Just The Way You Are) with Sheena Easton.^[3] In 1991, the RIAA gave him a recognition for the high sales of the albums Romance and Segundo Romance.^[3] Luis Miguel is the only Latin artist to have two Spanish-language albums (Romance and Segundo Romance) go platinum in the USA.

He was the only Latin artist to perform at the show "SINATRA: 80 Years My Way", along with other pop icons such as Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Cole and Bob Dylan.^[3] His album Romances of 1997, became the first Spanish-language album ever debuting at No. 14 on the Billboard Top 200.^[3] Warner Music recognized Luis Miguel as the best-selling artist in the history of Chile with over 2.5 million records sold.^[3] In 2003, Prince Felipe of Spain presented him with a special award for being the best-selling foreign artist in his country's history. In 2008, Luis Miguel's album Navidades became the first Christmas album ever being nominated to the Grammy in the category of Pop.^[3] His album Cómplices broke records in Mexico, by selling over 320,000 copies in its first day of release.^[3] Just three days after its release, his new album achieved Quadruple Platinum certification in Mexico, Platinum in Argentina and gold records in Chile and the United States.

Luis Miguel is also known by his high-grossing tours and his outstanding live performances. His Amarte Es Un Placer Tour had a length of 8 months and run through Mexico, USA, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil and Spain between 1999 and 2000. The tour consisted of 105 concerts and was attended by approximately 1.5 million fans. It was the highest-grossing tour ever made by a Latin artist, as well as the most extended. These two records have been broken by his Mexico En La Piel Tour. His 33 Tour peaked at No. 1 in the Billboard World Top Boxscore.^[3] The Mexico En La Piel Tour of 2005–2007, with a total of 124 concerts, peaked at No. 1 in the Billboard World Top Boxscore. The tour spanned two years with a total of 124 concerts attended by over 1.5 millions spectators, and grossed around $950 million.^[3] In 2006, during the Mexico En La Piel Tour, after giving 30 consecutive sold-out concerts at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico, gathering over 260,000 spectators he was awarded with the "Estela de Plata" at the last concert.^[3] His Luis Miguel Tour is ranked at number five of the highest-grossing tours of 2011 in North America.^[15]

Cultural impact[link]

Luis Miguel's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Luis Miguel is considered as one of the top male pop singers worldwide today. In a career that has spanned over twenty-five years, he has become the main singer from Latin America, having performed successfully pop music, bolero, mariachi and romantic ballads.^[16][17] In the late 1980s, Luis Miguel made the transition from child star to consolidated international singer, and since then, he became one of the most revered and popular Latin American artists ever.^[16][17] His wide vocal range and performance has been praised by critics and other artists all over the world.^[16][17]

Frank Sinatra personally invited Luis Miguel to participate on a duet in the album Duets II. Luis Miguel has been dubbed several times by the press and the media as the "Latin Frank Sinatra".^[18]

His music has reached to non-Spanish speaking continents such as Asia and Africa. The press stated that at the time of his capture, the dictator Saddam Hussein, had the album Segundo Romance, among his belongings.^[19]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Personal life[link]

Luis Miguel refuses to speak to the media about his personal life and keeps the matter private. Luis Miguel rarely grants interviews or attends award ceremonies. He is always escorted by a diligent security team and he is transported in several trucks to distract paparazzis and reporters.^[20]

He is recognized for his taste for haute cuisine and for being a self-taught sommelier. He released his own vintage of wine, "Unico. Luis Miguel", a Cabernet Sauvignon.^[21][22] He is a native Spanish speaker and also speaks fluent English, Italian and Portuguese.^[23][24]

Luis Miguel is the father of three children: Michelle Salas, born on June 13, 1989, from his relationship with Stephanie Salas; Miguel, born on January 1, 2007 and Daniel, born on December 18, 2008, both from his relationship with actress Aracely Arámbula. His numerous relationships are widely covered by the Latin media.^[25]

In April 2010, he was briefly hospitalized at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The cause of the hospitalization was not disclosed.^[26]

Discography[link]

Album certifications[link]

• Soy Como Quiero Ser: 5 Platinum Discs, 8 Gold Discs
• Romance: 70 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• Aries: 40 Platinum Discs 6 Gold Discs
• Segundo Romance: 50 Platinum Discs
• Nada Es Igual: 30 Platinum Discs
• Romances: 50 Platinum Discs
• Amarte Es Un Placer: 4 Platinum Discs, 4 Gold Discs
• Mis Romances: 8 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• 33: 11 Platinum Discs, 2 Gold Discs
• México En La Piel: 1 Diamond Disc, 11 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc
• Grandes Exitos: 5 Platinum Discs, 3 Gold Discs
• Grandes Exitos Videos: 1 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc
• Navidades Luis Miguel: 1 Diamond Discs, 10 Platinum Discs, 2 Gold Disc.
• Cómplices: 1 Diamond Disc, 9 Platinum Discs, 1 Gold Disc

Total career: 3 Diamond Discs, 304 Platinum Discs, 34 Gold Discs

Total career counting singles: 16.7 million discs^{[3][27][28][29][30]}

^[31][32][33]

Tours[link]

• (1990–1991) Gira 20 Años
• (1991–1992) Romance Tour
• (1993–1994) Aries Tour
• (1994–1995) Segundo Romance Tour
• (1995) El Concierto Tour
• (1996) America Tour
• (1997–1998) Romances Tour
• (1999–2000) Amarte Es Un Placer Tour
• (2002) Mis Romances Tour
• (2003–2004) 33 Tour
• (2005–2007) Mexico En La Piel Tour
• (2008–2009) Complices Tour
• (2010–2011) Luis Miguel Tour

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Luis Miguel

• Official Site
• Official Facebook
• Luis Miguel at Allmusic
• Mundo Luis Miguel

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (August 2011)

Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra during a concert in Boston, Massachusetts.
Background information
Birth name	Juan Luis Guerra Seijas
Born	(1957-06-07) June 7, 1957 (age 55)
Origin	Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Genres	Merengue, bachata, salsa, Latin pop
Occupations	Record producer, songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, guitarist
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1984–present
Labels	EMI Records
Associated acts	Juanes, Enrique Iglesias, 440
Website	www.juanluisguerra.com

Juan Luis Guerra (born June 7, 1957) is a singer, songwriter and producer from the Dominican Republic who has sold over 30 million records, and won numerous awards including 12 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards. He recently won 3 Latin Grammy Awards in 2010, including Album of the Year.

He is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists of recent decades. His pop style of merengue and bolero and Afro-pop/Latin fusion has garnered him considerable success throughout Latin America. Guerra is sometimes associated with the popular Dominican music called bachata, and while this association is partly true, he actually uses the basics of Bachata rhythm with a more bolero feel to the melodies in some of his songs.^[1] He does not limit himself to one style of music, instead, he incorporates diverse rhythms like merengue, bolero-bachata, balada, salsa, rock and roll, and even gospel as in the song "La Gallera". "Ojalá Que Llueva Café" ("I Wish It Would Rain Coffee") is one of his most critically acclaimed self-written and composed pieces. A remix of "La Llave de Mi Corazón" ("The Key of My Heart") with Taboo from The Black Eyed Peas is also an example of his fusion of genres.

Career[link]

Early life[link]

Born Juan Luis Guerra Seijas in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, he is the son of Olga Seijas and Gilberto Guerra, a basketball player. Before he committed to music, Guerra studied philosophy and literature at the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. He then studied guitar and music theory at El Conservatorio Nacional de Música de Santo Domingo, then decided to go to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. He graduated from Berklee in 1982 with a diploma in jazz composition.^[2] After his return to the Dominican Republic, he released his first album, Soplando (1984) with a group of local musicians that subsequently became known as Juan Luis Guerra y 440. The group members were Maridalia Hernández, Roger Zayas-Bazán, and Mariela Mercado. The band's name in Spanish is officially publicized as Cuatro Cuarenta (Four Forty), a shortening of the normally strict reading of number "four hundred forty". The 440 part of the band's name refers to the standard tuning of A440. Reportedly the name for the band came from a practice session where Juan Luis's brother suggested the name because the name would reflect how "in-tune and precise they were".^{[citation needed]} According to Guerra, this first album was based on jazz tunes and concepts he had learned at Berklee, and it "wasn't intended to be a commercial hit." Subsequently, however, he began to write more merengues.^[2]

Two albums followed, Mudanza y Acarreo and Mientras Más Lo Pienso...Tú. The band was nominated to attend the Festival of OTI (Organization of Iberoamerican Television) to represent the Dominican Republic.

Their next album, in 1989, brought them international acclaim. Ojalá Que Llueva Café, a slow melodic number with superfast background tracks, became a number one hit in many Latin American countries, with the hit song of the same name. Subsequently, a video of the song was filmed and Juan Luis Guerra and his 440 band began touring. (The song's fame was revived in 1996 and 2008 with covers by Mexican band Café Tacuba and Spanish singer Rosario Flores.)

1990s[link]

In 1990, they released their next album, Bachata Rosa, which became a major hit and earned Guerra his first Grammy award. The album, having sold more than five million copies at that time, allowed Guerra to keep touring Latin America, USA and Europe. This album contains memorable love songs such as "Burbujas de Amor" (Bubbles of Love), "Bachata Rosa", "Rosalia", "Como Abeja al Panal" (Like a Bee to Honeycomb), "A Pedir Su Mano" (Asking For Her Hand), "Carta de Amor" (Love Letter), and "Estrellitas y Duendes" (Little stars and elves).

Guerra became a controversial figure in 1992 after he released his next album, Areíto (which is a Taíno word for song and dance). It featured the hit single "El costo de la vida", (The Cost of Living), whose video clearly has an anti-capitalist message. Other songs included in this album protest against the poor conditions in many Latin American countries, the celebration of the 'discovery' of the Americas ("1492"), and the double standards of first-world nations. "El costo de la vida" was his first number-one hit in the Hot Latin Tracks. Guerra became the first performer of tropical music to achieve this feat.

In his next album, Fogaraté (1995), he stayed away from recording any protest songs. This album is particularly centered in the more rural and lesser known types of Dominican music, like the Perico Ripiao.

Guerra's 1998 release Ni Es Lo Mismo Ni Es Igual (Neither The Same Nor Equal) garnered much critical acclaim, winning three Latin Grammys in 2000 for Best Merengue Performance, Best Tropical Song, and Best Engineered Album. Its hits include "Mi PC" (My PC), "Palomita Blanca" (Little White Dove), and "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (The Niagara on Bicycle - literal; to ride a bicycle across Niagara Falls, i.e. a difficult task - coloquial "al pasar el Niagara en bicicleta", Cuban).

Juan Luis Guerra in concert in Madrid, Spain, during the Para ti tour. July 2005.

2000s[link]

In 2003, Guerra released his first new album in six years. Entitled "Para Ti" (For you), the album's songs are mostly religious in nature, reflecting Guerra's fervent Christianity. With this album the singer won two awards at the 2005 Billboards, in the categories of Gospel-Pop and Tropical-Merengue, for the hit single Las Avispas (The wasps), the first time ever that one song has won these two categories at the same time. Other hits included "Para Ti" and "Soldado" (Soldier). At the same time, Guerra was honored with the Latino Special Award for the Music Academy of Spain for his contributions to the music of his country and the Caribbean in the last 20 years.

In January 2006, Juan Luis performed at Berklee's 60th anniversary along with other artists such as Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Michel Camilo and Chiara Civello. That same year, he recorded with Diego Torres in "Abriendo Caminos" (Opening roads) and with Maná in "Bendita Tu Luz" (Blessed your light).

Notably, Juan Luis Guerra was part of the former highest grossing music tour of all time,(U2's 360 tour is currently the highest grossing music tour of all time) as he was the opening act for The Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang Tour at their San Juan, Puerto Rico show in February, 2006.

He was also invited by Sting to sing with him at a concert at Altos de Chavón, La Romana in the Dominican Republic in 2006. At the Premio Lo Nuestro awards in 2007, he was given the honorary lifetime achievement award. He also performed the lead single of his new album, "La Llave De Mi Corazón", released in March 2007.

"La llave de mi corazón" reached number one on the Billboard charts for four consecutive weeks, and was the #1 selling album in Colombia while climbing the charts in other countries^{[citation needed]}. Guerra won more than 20 awards with this CD, including 5 Latin Grammy Awards, 6 Premios Casandra awards, 4 billboard Awards, 2 lo nuestro, and one Grammy Award.

On April 6, 2006, Juan Luis Guerra was honored as a BMI Icon at the 13th annual BMI Latin Awards. Named BMI's 1995 Latin Songwriter of the Year, Guerra's songwriting has garnered 14 BMI Latin Awards.^[3]

Juan Luis Guerra was honored at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2007 with 5 awards, sweeping each category he was nominated in: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Tropical Song & Best Merengue Album. The engineers of the album, Allan Leschhorn, Luis Mansilla, Ronnie Torres, and Adam Ayan were awarded Best Engineered album. One night prior to the Latin Grammy Awards he received the Academy's Person of the Year Award for his contribution to Latin music and for his philanthropy.

On March 10, 2008, Juan Luis was honored with 6 awards in los Premios Casandra, the most important award event in the Dominican Republic. He won for Orchestrator of the year, Outstanding artist abroad, Music album of the year for "La Llave de mi Corazón" and "El Soberano" (The Sovereign), the most important award of the night.

On March 16, 2008 He and other artists participated in the Paz Sin Fronteras concert raised by Juanes, because of the conflict in recent days between Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

On April 11, 2008 Juan Luis Guerra was the Billboard Latin awards big winner, with 7 nominations and 3 awards.

On September 15, 2008 Guerra was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace "in recognition of his efforts for the benefit of children with disabilities and children in need."^[4]

On May 9, 2009, Guerra was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music at its commencement ceremony.

2010 Juan Luis Guerra was featured in Enrique Iglesias' Spanish single, Cuando Me Enamoro, and appeared with Iglesias in the music video. The single has currently spent 17 non-consecutive weeks at #1, the longest tenure at the peak position for both artists. In addition, the single was a self-replacement at #1 for Guerra as it replaced his own single Bachata en Fukuoka from his album A Son de Guerra.

Singing in other languages[link]

Guerra has recorded several songs in English, like "July 19th" on his Fogaraté release (1995), and more recently "Medicine for My Soul" and "Something Good" with Italian singer Chiara Civello. Some of his songs have verses in both English and Spanish such as "Woman del Callao", "Guavaberry", "Señorita" and more recently "La Llave de Mi Corazón". Album Areíto featured two songs, cover-title song "Areíto" and "Naboria daca, mayanimacaná" which are sung in the Arawak language of the extinct Taino natives of Hispaniola. Juan Luis Guerra also recorded the album "Bachata Rosa" in Portuguese. He uses Japanese words in Bachata en Fukuoka (Bachata in Fukuoka), 2010 Latin Grammy winner for Best Tropical Song.

Lyrical style[link]

Being a native Dominican, his music is heavily influenced by native Caribbean rhythms, such as merengue and bachata.

His lyrics are often charged with intentionally simple, heavily metaphorical, erotic, or popular expressions, such as "Burbujas de Amor" (Bubbles Of Love) or "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (Niagara on Bicycle), an idiom for something difficult to do.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

440 band members[link]

• Roger Zayas
• Maridalia Hernández
• Mariela Mercado
• Marco Hernández (replaced Maridalia Hernández)
• Adalgisa Pantaleón (replaced Mariela Mercado)
• Quico Rizek (replaced Marco Hernández)

Quotation[link]

This section is a candidate to be copied to Wikiquote using the Transwiki process.

We write for our home audience. We play music that appeals to those at home, a music that feels natural and intuitive.^[7]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Manuel, Peter. Caribbean Currents: Caribbean Music from Rumba to Reggae. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juan Luis Guerra

• Official website in English and Spanish.
• Biography of Juan Luis Guerra With particular focus on his relationship to bachata.
• Juan Luis Guerra at National Geographic World Music
• Juan Luis Guerra Online Scholarship from Berklee College of Music
• Juan Luis Guerra at the Internet Movie Database
• Encarta bio (Archived 2009-10-31)

Diego Corrales
Statistics
Real name	Diego Corrales
Nickname(s)	Chico
Rated at	Lightweight Super Featherweight
Height	5′ 10½″ / 179cm
Reach	70″ / 178cm
Nationality	American
Born	(1977-08-25)August 25, 1977 Columbia, South Carolina[1]
Died	May 7, 2007(2007-05-07) (Age 29) Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	45
Wins	40
Wins by KO	33
Losses	5

Diego "Chico" Corrales (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American boxer.^[2]

He was the WBC, WBO, & The Ring lightweight champion, and the WBO & IBF super featherweight champion.

In 2005, Corrales received the prestigious The Ring & Boxing Writers Association of America's Fight of the Year awards for his acclaimed lightweight bout with José Luis Castillo.

Early life[link]

Corrales was born in Columbia, South Carolina to a Colombian father and a Mexican mother.^[3] Corrales' early life was filled with violence; he was raised in the Oak Park section of Sacramento, was involved with street gangs at age 13, and witnessed his best friend's death via drive-by shooting. Corrales had a degree in culinary arts. He trained at "Sac Pal" (Sacramento Police Athletic League) Boxing Gym. ^[4]

Amateur career[link]

Corrales compiled an amateur boxing record of 105-12.^[5] In 1994, he took second place at the United States Amateur Championships, losing to Frankie Carmona on points in the featherweight final. He was a bronze medalist at featherweight in the 1995 Pan American Games. At lightweight, he lost in the 1995 World Championships in Berlin, Germany to Marco Rudolph.

Professional career[link]

Corrales was victorious in his pro boxing debut on March 19, 1996. On October 23, 1999, Corrales won the IBF super featherweight title by defeating the previously unbeaten Roberto Garcia via TKO in the seventh round. After defeating Angel Manfredy on September 2, 2000, Corrales' managers vacated his title. Corrales had a record of 33-0 at this point.

On January 20, 2001, Corrales challenged Floyd Mayweather Jr. for the WBC super featherweight title and recorded his first knockdown and first loss. In the bout, Mayweather knocked down Corrales five times (three times in the seventh round and twice in the tenth). After the fifth knockdown, Corrales' corner stopped the fight, despite Corrales' protests.

Shortly after the Mayweather fight, Corrales served 14 months in prison after opting for a plea bargain on charges he faced for abusing his pregnant wife, Maria.^[6]

In 2003, Corrales returned to the ring. After easily winning four fights, Corrales fought against Joel Casamayor. After the sixth round, the fight was stopped because of a deep cut inside of Corrales' mouth. On March 6, 2004, there was a rematch for the vacant WBO super featherweight title. Corrales won by close split decision.

On August 7, 2004, Corrales won the WBO lightweight title from Acelino Freitas via TKO in the tenth round. Freitas won the early rounds, but by the later rounds he was visibly tired and began to be caught by Corrales. After rising from his third knockdown, Freitas walked away from the referee and quit.

Corrales vs. Castillo I, II, and III[link]

On May 7, 2005, Corrales defeated José Luis Castillo for the WBC lightweight title via TKO in the tenth round. The fight is almost universally regarded as the best fight of 2005.^[7][8][9] Both men stood in front of each other, battering each other with hard combinations and power punches throughout the entire fight. Finally, in the tenth round, Castillo knocked Corrales down. Seconds later, Castillo knocked Corrales down again. Once on the ground, Corrales managed to beat the count, and, after a point was taken away for excessive spitting out of the mouthpiece, Corrales connected with a punch that Castillo later called "a perfect right hand."^[10] Corrales then trapped Castillo against the ropes and landed numerous punches, causing the referee, Tony Weeks, to stop the fight. After the fight Corrales stated that he dedicated the fight to a late friend killed just 3 months earlier in Iraq, United States Marine LCpl Richard Perez Jr. whom Corrales had done some radio with his father Rich Perez in Las Vegas at the time. Corrales said "There was no way I was going to lose this fight, they would have had to drag me out of this one." As Corrales looked at the elder Perez and said "That was for your boy."

A rematch between Corrales and Castillo occurred on October 8, 2005. On the day before the fight, Castillo weighed-in 3½ lb over the 135 lb (61 kg) lightweight limit. Since Castillo did not make the weight, the fight became a non-title bout. The two fighters continued with the same fighting style that they had used in the first fight, trading inside punches throughout the first three rounds. Early in the fourth round, Castillo knocked down Corrales with a left hook to his chin. Corrales wobbled to his feet at the referee's count of ten, causing the fight to end.

Corrales vs. Castillo III, dubbed "The War to Settle the Score," had been scheduled for February 4, 2006, but it was postponed because of a rib injury that Corrales suffered while training. The fight was rescheduled for June 3, 2006. At the weigh-in, however, Corrales weighed the 135 lb (61 kg) lightweight limit whereas Castillo weighed 139½ lb—causing the fight to be cancelled. Corrales later sued Castillo for punitive damages.

After Castillo[link]

Corrales was scheduled to defend his lightweight title in a third bout against Joel Casamayor on October 7, 2006. However, Corrales weighed in 5 pounds over the limit. He was given two hours to shed five pounds, but came back at 139 pounds. Corrales would have been stripped of the title if he had won the bout, but Casamayor defeated him by split decision for the WBC and The Ring lightweight titles.

On April 7, 2007, fighting in the welterweight division, Corrales lost a unanimous decision to Joshua Clottey.^[11] Corrales was dropped in rounds 9 and 10 and lost by the scores of 97-90, 98-89 and 100-87.

Death[link]

On May 7, 2007, exactly two years to the day after his first fight with Castillo, Corrales was killed in a three-vehicle accident near his Las Vegas home. Corrales was riding a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 1000 motorcycle, traveling northbound on Fort Apache Road in the southwest part of the Las Vegas Valley, Corrales attempted to pass another vehicle at high speed, but Corrales struck the back of the car and was immediately knocked off his bike and hit the ground. An ambulance was called by the witnesses at the scene, Corrales was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival. Las Vegas police spokesman Sgt. Tracy McDonald said: "The accident occurred at approximately 7:30 p.m. PDT." McDonald said there was no outward evidence of drugs or alcohol involved. He could not say how fast the motorcycle was traveling. Corrales blood alcohol content was 0.25 at the time of the crash, approximately 3 times the legal limit for Nevada. The funeral in Las Vegas was ushered by Referee Richard Steele with three main speakers, promoter Gary Shaw, Sportscaster Rich Perez and a representative from the Corrales family.^[12]

Professional boxing record[link]

40 Wins (33 knockouts, 7 decisions), 5 Losses (3 by knockout, 2 by decision), 0 Draws [13]
Res.	Opponent	Type	Rd	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	Joshua Clottey	UD	10	2007-04-07	Shrine Mosque, Springfield, Missouri, United States
Loss	Joel Casamayor	SD	12	2006-10-07	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Lost WBC & The Ring lightweight titles.
Loss	Jose Luis Castillo	KO	4 (12)	2005-10-08	Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Jose Luis Castillo	TKO	10 (12)	2005-05-07	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained WBO, and won WBC & The Ring lightweight titles. The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (2005)
Win	Acelino Freitas	TKO	10 (12)	2004-08-07	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Won WBO lightweight title.
Win	Joel Casamayor	SD	12	2004-03-06	Foxwoods Resort, Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States	Won vacant WBO super featherweight title.
Loss	Joel Casamayor	TKO	6 (12)	2003-10-04	Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Damian Fuller	KO	3 (10)	2003-06-20	Home Depot Center, California, United States
Win	Felix St Kitts	TKO	3 (10)	2003-04-24	Grand Casino, Gulfport, Mississippi, United States
Win	Roque Cassiani	RTD	1 (10)	2003-02-22	The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Win	Michael Davis	TKO	5 (8)	2003-01-25	Ballys Park Place Hotel Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey, United State
Loss	Floyd Mayweather Jr.	TKO	10 (12)	2001-01-20	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	For WBC super featherweight title.
Win	Angel Manfredy	TKO	3 (12)	2000-09-02	Don Haskins Convention Center, El Paso, Texas, United States	Retained IBF super featherweight title.
Win	Justin Juuko	KO	10 (12)	2000-06-17	Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	Derrick Gainer	TKO	3 (12)	2000-03-18	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Retained IBF super featherweight title.
Win	John Brown	UD	12	1999-12-04	Chinook Winds Casino, Lincoln City, Oregon, United States	Retained IBF super featherweight title.
Win	Roberto Garcia	TKO	7 (12)	1999-10-23	MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Won IBF super featherweight title.
Win	Angel Aldama	TKO	4 (12)	1999-06-12	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, United States
Win	Claudio Victor Martinet	TKO	5 (10)	1999-04-02	Convention Center, Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Win	Gairy St. Clair	UD	12	1998-12-18	Yosemite Hall, Sacramento, California, United States
Win	Hector Arroyo	TKO	5 (10)	1998-11-20	Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Benito Rodriguez	KO	6 (?)	1998-09-12	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, United States
Win	Rafael Morfin	TKO	2 (?)	1998-08-15	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	Benito Rodriguez	TD	7 (?)	1998-07-05	Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California, United States
Win	Eduardo Contreras	TKO	2 (?)	1998-05-30	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	Juan Carlos Salazar	KO	1 (?)	1998-04-18	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	Angel Aldama	UD	10	1999-06-12	Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, United States
Win	Juan Angel Macias	TKO	6 (12)	1997-10-18	Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Juan Angel Macias	KO	8 (10)	1997-08-22	Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, United States
Win	Manny Castillo	TKO	11 (12)	1997-07-11	Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California, United States
Win	Javier Pichardo	KO	2 (12)	1997-05-09	Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Steve Quinonez	TKO	4 (?)	1997-04-04	Orleans Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Idelfonso Bernal	TKO	2 (6)	1997-03-14	Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	Salvador Montes	KO	1 (6)	1997-01-13	Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California, United States
Win	Julian Vasquez	KO	1 (?)	1996-12-16	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win	Mario Gonzalez	KO	1 (?)	1996-12-13	Tecate, Baja California, Mexico
Win	Juan Santos	TKO	1 (?)	1996-11-29	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico
Win	Sergio Macias	TKO	4 (4)	1996-10-11	Texas Station Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Murphy Hughes	KO	1 (4)	1996-09-13	Knapp Center, Des Moines, Iowa, United States
Win	Cesar Morales	TKO	2 (4)	1996-08-17	Sports Stadium, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Win	Lorenzo Raul Chaires	KO	1 (4)	1996-06-27	Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	Ciro Canales	UD	4	1996-06-07	Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	Victor Manuel Mendoza	TKO	3 (4)	1996-05-30	Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	Enrique Beltran	UD	4	1996-03-28	Celebrity Theater, Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Win	Everett Berry	TKO	3 (4)	1996-03-19	Club Rio, Tempe, Arizona, United States	Diego's professional debut.