In the theology of the Catholic Church, Limbo (Latin limbus, edge or boundary, referring to the "edge" of Hell) is a speculative idea about the afterlife condition of those who die in Original Sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Limbo is not an official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church or any other Christian denomination. Medieval theologians, in western Europe, described the underworld ("hell", "hades", "infernum") as divided into four distinct parts: Hell of the Damned (which some call Gehenna), Purgatory, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants.

Limbo of the Patriarchs[link]

Jesus in Limbo by Domenico Beccafumi

The "Limbo of the Patriarchs" or "Limbo of the Fathers" (Latin limbus patrum) is seen as the temporary state of those who, in spite of the personal sins they may have committed, died in the friendship of God, but could not enter Heaven until redemption by Jesus Christ made it possible. The term "Limbo of the Fathers" was a medieval name for the part of the underworld (Hades) where the patriarchs of the Old Testament were believed to be kept until Christ's soul descended into it by his death^[1] through crucifixion and freed them (see Harrowing of Hell). The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes Christ's descent into "hell" as meaning primarily that "the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead." It adds: "But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there." It does not use the word "Limbo".^[2]

The Limbo of the Fathers was the abode of people who, before Jesus' Resurrection, had died in the friendship of God, but had to wait for Christ to open heaven's gates. This concept of Limbo affirms that one can get into heaven only through Jesus Christ but does not portray Moses, etc., as being punished eternally in Hell.

Like other religious terms, such as "Trinity", the term "Limbo" does not appear in the Bible. And like other religious concepts, that of the Limbo of the Patriarchs is not spelled out in Scripture, but is seen by some as implicit in various references.

Luke 16:22 speaks of the "bosom of Abraham", which both the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, following early Christian writers, understand as a temporary state of souls awaiting entrance into Heaven. The end of that state is set either at the Resurrection of the Dead, the most common interpretation in the East, or at the Harrowing of Hell, the most common interpretation in the West, but adopted also by some in the East.^[3]

Jesus told the Good Thief that the two of them would be together "this day" in "Paradise" (Luke 23:43; see also Matthew 27:38); but between on the Sunday of his resurrection he said that he had "not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17). Some say that the descent of Jesus to the abode of the dead, his presence among them, turned it into a paradise.^[4][5] Others understand the text to mean not "I say to you, This day you will be with me in paradise", but "I say to you this day, You will be with me in paradise". Timothy Radcliffe explained the "today" as a reference to the "Today of eternity".^[6]

Eastern depiction of Christ in his resurrection raising also Adam and Eve

Jesus is also described as preaching to "the spirits in prison" (1 Pet 3:19). Medieval drama sometimes portrayed Christ leading a dramatic assault—The Harrowing of Hell—during the three days between the Crucifixion and the resurrection. In this assault, Jesus freed the souls of the just and escorted them triumphantly into heaven. This imagery is still used in the Eastern Orthodox Church's Holy Saturday liturgy (between Good Friday and Pascha) and in Eastern Orthodox icons of the Resurrection of Jesus.

The doctrine expressed by the term "Limbo of the Fathers" was taught, for instance, by Clement of Alexandria, who maintained: "It is not right that these should be condemned without trial, and that those alone who lived after the coming (of Christ) should have the advantage of the divine righteousness."^[7]

Limbo of Infants[link]

The Limbo of Infants (Latin limbus infantium or limbus puerorum) is a hypothesis about the permanent status of the unbaptized who die in infancy, too young to have committed personal sins, but not having been freed from original sin. Since at least the time of Augustine, theologians, considering baptism to be necessary for the salvation of those to whom it can be administered, have debated the fate of unbaptized innocents, and the theory of the Limbo of Infants is one of the hypotheses that have been formulated as a proposed solution. Some who hold this theory regard the Limbo of Infants as a state of maximum natural happiness, others as one of "mildest punishment" consisting at least of privation of the beatific vision and of any hope of obtaining it. This theory, in any of its forms, has never been dogmatically defined by the Church, but it is permissible to hold it. Recent Catholic theological speculation tends to stress the hope that these infants may attain heaven instead of the supposed state of Limbo.

While the Catholic Church has a defined doctrine on original sin, it has none on the eternal fate of unbaptized infants, leaving theologians free to propose different theories, which Catholics are free to accept or reject.^[8]

The fundamental importance, in Roman Catholic theology, of the sacrament of water baptism gives rise to the argument that, because original sin excludes from the beatific vision enjoyed by the souls in heaven, those who have not been freed from it either by the sacrament or by baptism of desire or baptism of blood are not eligible for entry into heaven.

Latin Fathers[link]

Saint Augustine of Hippo held that because of original sin, "such infants as quit the body without being baptized will be involved in the mildest condemnation of all. That person, therefore, greatly deceives both himself and others, who teaches that they will not be involved in condemnation; whereas the apostle says: 'Judgment from one offence to condemnation' (Romans 5:16), and again a little after: 'By the offence of one upon all persons to condemnation' (Romans 5:18)."^[9]

The Council of North African bishops, which included Augustine of Hippo, held at Carthage in 418 did not explicitly endorse all aspects of Augustine's stern view about the destiny of infants who die without baptism, but the Latin Fathers of the 5th and 6th centuries did adopt his position, and it became a point of reference for Latin theologians in the Middle Ages.^[10]

Medieval theologians[link]

In the later medieval period, some theologians continued to hold Augustine's view. In the 12th century, Peter Abelard (1079–1142) said that these infants suffered no material torment or positive punishment, just the pain of loss at being denied the beatific vision. Others held that unbaptized infants suffered no pain at all: unaware of being deprived of the beatific vision, they enjoyed a state of natural, not supernatural happiness. This theory was associated with but independent of the term "Limbo of Infants", which was forged about the year 1300.^[11]

If heaven is a state of supernatural happiness and union with God, and hell is understood as a state of torture and separation from God then, in this view, the Limbo of Infants, although technically part of hell (the outermost part, "limbo" meaning "outer edge" or "hem") is seen as a sort of intermediate state.

Saint Thomas Aquinas described the Limbo of Infants as an eternal state of natural joy, untempered by any sense of loss at how much greater their joy might have been had they been baptized. He argued that this was a reward of natural happiness for natural virtue; a reward of supernatural happiness for merely natural virtue would be inappropriate since, due to original sin, unbaptized children lack the necessary supernatural grace. In regards to baptism of desire, Aquinas stated that only adults were capable of this,^[12] and this view seemed to be accepted by the Council of Florence, which quotes Aquinas in its Eleventh Session concerning baptism of infants.

The natural happiness possessed in this place would consist in the perception of God mediated through creatures.^[13] As stated in the International Theological Commission's document on the question:

Because children below the age of reason did not commit actual sin, theologians came to the common view that these unbaptized children feel no pain at all or even that they enjoy a full natural happiness through their union with God in all natural goods (Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus).^[14]

In some ways, this state bears a strong resemblance to the goal of Ignatian spirituality--seeing God in all things—and would be a form of happiness rarely attained by any human walking the earth.

Modern era[link]

The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church is that "Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament" and that, since "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments," "Baptism of blood" (as in the case of the martyrs, who are understood to include the Holy Innocents) and, for catechumens at least, the explicit desire for Baptism, "together with repentance for their sins, and charity," ("Baptism of Desire") ensure salvation for those unable to receive Baptism by water.^[15]

The Ecumenical Council of Florence (1442) spoke of baptism as necessary even for children and required that they be baptised soon after birth.^[16] This had earlier been affirmed at the local Council of Carthage in 417. The Council of Florence also stated that those who die in original sin alone go to hell.^[17] John Wycliffe's attack on the necessity of infant baptism was condemned by another general council, the Council of Constance.^[18] The Council of Trent in 1547 explicitly stated that baptism (or desire for baptism) was the means by which one is transferred "from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace, and of the adoption of the sons of God, through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Saviour.^[19]

If adults could effectively be baptised through a desire for the sacrament when prevented from actually receiving it, some speculated that perhaps sacramentally unbaptised infants too might be saved by some waterless equivalent of ordinary baptism when prevented. Thomas Cajetan, a major 16th-century theologian, suggested that infants dying in the womb before birth, and so before ordinary sacramental baptism could be administered, might be saved through their mother's wish for their baptism. Thus, there was no clear consensus that the Council of Florence had excluded salvation of infants by such extra-sacramental equivalents of baptism.

Through the 18th and 19th centuries, individual theologians (Bianchi in 1768, H. Klee in 1835, Caron in 1855, H. Schell in 1893) continued to formulate theories of how children who died unbaptised might still be saved. By 1952 a theologian such as Ludwig Ott could, in a widely used and well-regarded manual, openly teach the possibility that children who die unbaptised might be saved for heaven^[20]—though he still represented their going to limbo as the commonly taught opinion. In its 1980 instruction on children's baptism the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaffirmed that "with regard to children who die without having received baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as indeed she does in the funeral rite established for them."^[21] And in 1984, when Joseph Ratzinger, then Cardinal Prefect of that Congregation, stated that, as a private theologian, he rejected the claim that children who die unbaptised cannot attain salvation, he was speaking for many academic theologians of his background and training.

Thus in 1992, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, while affirming that "the Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude", but also stating that "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments",^[22] stated: "As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: 'Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,'^[23] allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism."^[24]

On April 22, 2007, the advisory body known as the International Theological Commission released a document, originally commissioned by Pope John Paul II, entitled "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die without Being Baptized."^[25]

After tracing the history of the various opinions that have been and are held on the eternal fate of unbaptized infants, including that connected with the theory of the Limbo of Infants, and after examining the theological arguments, the document stated its conclusion as follows:

Our conclusion is that the many factors that we have considered above give serious theological and liturgical grounds for hope that unbaptized infants who die will be saved and enjoy the beatific vision. We emphasize that these are reasons for prayerful hope, rather than grounds for sure knowledge. There is much that simply has not been revealed to us.^[26] We live by faith and hope in the God of mercy and love who has been revealed to us in Christ, and the Spirit moves us to pray in constant thankfulness and joy.^[27]

What has been revealed to us is that the ordinary way of salvation is by the sacrament of baptism. None of the above considerations should be taken as qualifying the necessity of baptism or justifying delay in administering the sacrament. Rather, as we want to reaffirm in conclusion, they provide strong grounds for hope that God will save infants when we have not been able to do for them what we would have wished to do, namely, to baptize them into the faith and life of the Church.

Pope Benedict XVI authorized publication of this document, indicating that it is considered consonant with the Church's teaching, though it is not an official expression of that teaching.^[28] Media reports that by the document "the Pope closed Limbo"^[29] are thus without foundation. In fact, the document explicitly states that "the theory of limbo, understood as a state which includes the souls of infants who die subject to original sin and without baptism, and who, therefore, neither merit the beatific vision, nor yet are subjected to any punishment, because they are not guilty of any personal sin. This theory, elaborated by theologians beginning in the Middle Ages, never entered into the dogmatic definitions of the Magisterium, even if that same Magisterium did at times mention the theory in its ordinary teaching up until the Second Vatican Council. It remains therefore a possible theological hypothesis" (second preliminary paragraph); and in paragraph 41 it repeats that the theory of Limbo "remains a possible theological opinion". The document thus allows the hypothesis of a limbo of infants to be held as one of the existing theories about the fate of children who die without being baptised, a question on which there is "no explicit answer" from Scripture or tradition.^[28] These theories are not official teaching of the Catholic Church, but are only opinions that the Church does not condemn, permitting them to be held by its members.

Some traditionalist Catholics have seen publication of the Commission's study as a move "to overturn and spread confusion in the most fundamental doctrines of the Faith so as to promote the damnation of souls".^[30]

Limbo in other denominations and religions[link]

The Old Testament righteous follow Christ from Hades to Heaven (Russian icon).

Neither the Eastern Orthodox Church nor Protestantism accepts the concept of a limbo of infants;^[31] but, while not using the expression "Limbo of the Patriarchs", the Eastern Orthodox Church lays much stress on the resurrected Christ's action of liberating Adam and Eve and other righteous figures of the Old Testament, such as Abraham and David, from Hades (see Harrowing of Hell).

Some Protestants have a similar understanding of those who died as believers prior to the crucifixion of Jesus residing in a place that is not Heaven, but not Hell. The doctrine holds that Hades has two "compartments", one an unnamed place of torment, the other named Abraham's Bosom. Luke 16:19–26 speaks of a chasm fixed between the two which cannot be crossed. Those in the unnamed "compartment" have no hope, and will ultimately be consigned to hell. Those in Abraham's bosom are those of whom it is written of Jesus, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives..." (Eph. 4:8, quoting Psa. 68:18). These individuals, the captives, now reside with God in Heaven. Both "Compartments" still exist, but Abraham's Bosom is now empty, while the other chamber is not, according to this doctrine.

Mormons teach that "all who have died without a knowledge of [the] gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God."^[32] Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, and others have taught that the dead are unconscious (or even nonexistent), awaiting their destiny on Judgment Day.

The Zoroastrian concept of hamistagan is similar to limbo. Hamistagan is a neutral state in which a soul that was neither good nor evil awaits Judgment Day.

In Islam, which denies the existence of Original Sin in totality, the concept of Limbo exists as Barzakh, the state which exists after death, prior to the day of resurrection. During this period sinners are punished and the faithful rest in comfort. The concept of underage children is that they go exempt of sin and that they are classed as Muslims and after death they go to heaven where they are cared for by Abraham.^[33]

Popular culture[link]

Literature[link]

• In the Divine Comedy poem Inferno, Dante depicts Limbo as the first circle of Hell, located beyond the river Acheron but before the judgment seat of Minos. The virtuous pagans of classical history and mythology inhabit a brightly lit and beautiful—but somber—castle which is seemingly a medieval version of Elysium. They include Hector, Julius Caesar, Virgil, Electra, and Orpheus. In the same work, a semi-infernal region above Limbo on the other side of Acheron but inside the Gate of Hell also exists for the Uncommitted. It is the "vestibule" of Hell and houses so-called "neutralists" or "opportunists", who devoted their lives neither to good nor to evil, they are being pursued by hornets. Its residents include those angels who did not fight at all in the war that resulted in the expulsion of Lucifer from Heaven and also either Pope Celestine V or Pontius Pilate (the text is ambiguous).

• One of Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney's best known works is titled Limbo. Rich with allusions to Christian teaching, the poem describes a mother drowning her illegitimate infant and its being netted by fishermen.

• In the Artemis Fowl series, Artemis fowl travels to Limbo with the attraction of N1 to Limbo. Limbo is where the demon warlocks moved their island to a period of time and space is to a stop. Eventually most things in Limbo moves to earth because the demon warlocks time spell is fading and because there are no more demon warlocks, the spell cannot be renewed. Eventually, N1 figures out that hie is a demon warlock himself, letting him remove the gargoyle touch to the other demon warlocks that are turned to stone.

Movies[link]

• In the film Inception, Limbo is a deep subconscious level, far beyond false awakening, and a state in which the characters may be trapped indefinitely. Limbo is a major plot point in the film.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, Harry Potter, still alive, was seen walking through Limbo with Professor Albus Dumbledore, who was dead at the time. Voldemort's soul was also found in Limbo in the movie.

Video games[link]

• In the indie game LIMBO, a boy walks through Limbo searching for his sister, in the process he comes across many dangerous situations.^[34]
• In the Dante's Inferno video game Limbo is portrayed as a chaotic landscape watched over by Minos and inhabited by unbaptized infants with sickles for hands. In the anime based on the video game however, Limbo is shown as a peaceful part of Hell where the shades of historical pagans debate with one another in philosophical matters.
• In DmC: Devil May Cry, Limbo is the name of a city that drags its victims into a demonic version of its human world counterpart where demons (shown as twisted porcelain dolls) and an ever-changing landscape (floors falling out, buildings that crush their victims, etc.) frequently attempt to kill the protagonist Dante after he is pulled into Limbo when caught in the sight of one of the city's demonic cameras.

Comics[link]

• In Marvel Comics, Limbo is a section outside time, ruled over by a future version of Kang the Conqueror called Immortus. From there he can view many different time periods. The Space Phantom is also from there, and when he takes a form that person is sent to Limbo. There is also a Limbo known as Otherplace, a dimension of demons.

Limbo as a colloquialism[link]

Differing slightly from the original meaning, in colloquial speech, "limbo" is any status where a person or project is held up, and nothing can be done until another action happens. For example, a construction project might be described as "in limbo" if political considerations delay its permit.

A "legal limbo" may occur when varying laws or court rulings leave a person without recourse. For example, a person may earn "too much" to receive public assistance from the government, but not enough to actually pay for basic necessities. Likewise, various parties in a dispute may be pointing blame at each other, rather than fixing the problem, and leaving the person or group suffering from the problem to continue to suffer in limbo.

The Amstrad PCW's bundled word processing software, LocoScript, used the term "in limbo" to refer to files which had been deleted but which could still be restored, a concept similar to that later implemented by the Trash in the Apple Macintosh and the Recycle Bin in Microsoft Windows 95. On the PCW, the files "in limbo" were marked as belonging to CP/M Plus users 8 to 15. These files were deleted automatically when the space they occupied was needed. It could therefore be dangerous to access a disk containing files created with CP/M Plus using LocoScript, since LocoScript could decide to delete anything in users 8 to 15.

In the licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), properties registered under a previous scheme, but would not be licensable under mandatory arrangements, would go into a state of limbo when they expire, until the status of any potential additional licensing scheme is fully resolved.

See also[link]

Christianity portal

• Hades in Christianity
• Heaven
• Hell in Christian beliefs
• Intermediate state
• Sheol
• Spirit world (Latter Day Saints)
• Spirits in prison

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Look up limbo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Limbo

•  "Limbo". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
• The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized (document of the International Theological Commission)
• Unbaptized Infants Suffer Fire and Limbo is a Heretical Pelagian Fable (a Traditionalist sedevacantist perspective)

v t e Underworlds Aztec mythology Mictlan Buddhism Naraka Chinese mythology Diyu Persian mythology Duzakh Christianity Purgatory Limbo Hell Ancient Egyptian religion Duat Germanic and Norse paganism Hel Niflheim Greek mythology Hades Tartarus Hinduism Naraka Patala Islam Barzakh Jahannam Jainism Naraka Judaism Gehenna Sheol Shinto Yomi Turkic-Mongolian Erlik

Daddy Yankee
Background information
Birth name	Ramón Ayala
Also known as	Winchester 30-30 El Cangri El Jefe The Big Boss DY El Máximo Lider
Born	(1977-02-03) February 3, 1977 (age 35)
Origin	San Juan, Puerto Rico
Genres	Reggaeton, Latin rap, hip-hop
Years active	1992–present
Labels	El Cartel, Interscope, Sony Music Latin
Website	daddyyankee.com

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1977), known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball, and aspired to become a Major League Baseball player. He was unable to continue this sport when he received an injury to one of his legs, leaving him unable to walk correctly. He then became involved in the underground rap movement that was in its early stages in Puerto Rico, later to be called reggaeton. After receiving lessons from several artists within the genre, he developed an independent career, first recording in a production titled Playero 37. After this he began to produce independent albums. His first solo album was No Mercy. He subsequently formed a duo with Nicky Jam, and then continued his solo career with the releases of El Cartel and El Cartel II. This led him be one of many pioneers of the reggaeton genre earning him the nickname "El Cangri".

In 2002 El Cangri.com became Ayala's first album with international success, receiving coverage in the markets of New York and Miami. Barrio Fino was released in 2004, and the album received numerous awards, including Lo Nuestro Awards and a Latin Billboard, as well as receiving nominations for the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards. Barrio Fino performed well in the sales charts of the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Japan. On June 5, 2007, El Cartel Records released El Cartel: The Big Boss, which was ranked as the top-selling album in Latin music genres in 2007. He promoted the album with an international tour which began in the United States and continued through Latin America, breaking attendance records in Ecuador and Bolivia.

His performances have appeared on more than 70 albums, including compilations such as Mas Flow 2 and Blin Blin Vol. 1. Outside of his work as a musician, Ayala has also worked as an actor and producer. Throughout his career, he has been generally reluctant to discuss his personal life, but has publicly expressed the importance of his wife and children to him.

Following the incident, he became interested in the underground movement, which at the time was in an early organizational stage.^[1] He also took more interest in the events that took place in the neighborhood in which he was raised, a public housing project named Villa Kennedy.^[2] Early in his career he attempted to imitate the style of Vico C. He went on to emulate other artists in the genre, including DJ Playero, DJ Nelson, and DJ Goldy, taking elements from their styles in order to develop an original style.^[1] In doing so, he eventually abandoned the traditional model of rap and became one of the first artists to perform reggaeton.^[1] Ayala first recorded with DJ Playero as a featured artist in a production titled Playero 37, which was released in 1992.^[2]

Musical career[link]

Independent productions[link]

His first album, titled No Mercy, was produced in 1995 when Ayala was eighteen years old.^[2] The production did not sell well, and he continued his work within the genre for the rest of the decade, eventually forming a duo with Nicky Jam. One of the duo's songs, "Posición", was included in the soundtrack of One Tough Cop, a movie directed by Bruno Barreto, that was released in 1998. Beginning in 2000, Ayala began concentrating more on his solo career, releasing albums produced outside studios. The first production he released was titled El Cartel, featuring elements of the mixtape style.^[2] In 2001 El Cartel II was released, a direct sequel to the previous production, and influenced by similar genres.

In 2005 El Cangri.com was released, and became the first album in Ayala's career to sell well outside Puerto Rico, mostly in the United States.^[2] The album was produced by VI Music, an independent recording studio in Puerto Rico, and was not supported by a major label.^[2] The most successful single from the album was "Latigazo", which received significant play on radio stations in New York and Miami.^[2] The album reached #43 on Billboard's Top Latin Albums chart.^[2] Following the release of this disc, Ayala performed at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum before 12,000 fans.^[3] The following year VI Music produced Los Homerun-es.^[2] The album became the leader in sales in Puerto Rico during a year in which several other reggaeton artists released significant productions, including Luny Tune's Mas Flow, Don Omar's The Last Don, and Tego Calderón's El Abayarde.^[2] The album's success helped Ayala receive the publicity required for a crossover to the United States market, and marked the last album he released with VI music before signing a contract with Universal

2004–2005[link]

Ayala's next album, Barrio Fino, was produced by Luny Tunes and released in July 2004 by El Cartel Records and VI Music. It was the most highly anticipated album in the reggaeton community.^[4] Ayala had enjoyed Salsa music since he was young, and this led him to include music of genres besides reggaeton in the album.^[4] The most prominent of these cross-genre singles was "Melao", in which he performed with Andy Montañez.^[4] The album was described as his most complete, and with it he intended to introduce combinations of reggaeton and other genres to the English-speaking market.^[4] Barrio Fino was followed up by an international tour with performances in numerous countries including the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Honduras, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and the United States.^[4] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States alone and has sold well throughout Latin America and worldwide.^[5]

In 2005 Ayala won several international awards, making him one of the most recognized reggaeton artists within the music industry.^[6] The first award of the year was Lo Nuestro Awards within the "Latin music" category, which he received for Barrio Fino.^[6] In this event he performed "Gasolina" in a performance that was described as "innovative".^[6] Barrio Fino also won the "Reggaeton Album of the Year" award in the Latin Billboard that took place on April 28, 2005,^[6] where he performed a mix of three of his songs in a duo with P. Diddy. The album was promoted throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe, reaching certified gold in Japan. Due to the album's success, Ayala received promotional contracts with radio stations and soda companies, including Pepsi.^[7] His single "Gasolina" received the majority of votes cast for the second edition of Premios Juventud, in which it received eight nominations and won seven awards.^[6] Ayala also made a live presentation during the award ceremony. "Gasolina" received nominations in the Latin Grammy and MTV Video Music Awards.^[6]

The successful single, "Gasolina", was covered by artists from different music genres. This led to a controversy when Los Lagos, a Mexican banda group, did a cover with the original beat but changed the song's lyrics.^[8] The group's label had solicited the copyright permission to perform the single and translate it to a different music style, but did not receive consent to change the lyrics; legal action followed.^[8] Speaking for the artist, Ayala's lawyer stated that having his songs covered was an "honor, but it must be done the right way."^[8]

2006–present[link]

On April 30, 2006, Ayala was named one of the 100 most influential people by Time magazine, which cited the 2 million copies of Barrio Fino sold, Ayala's $20 million contract with Interscope Records, and his Pepsi endorsement.^[9] During this period, Ayala and William Omar Landrón (more commonly known by his artistic name Don Omar) were involved in a rivalry within the genre, dubbed "tiraera". The rivalry received significant press coverage despite being denied early on by both artists. It originated with a lyrical conflict between the artists begun by Ayala's comments in a remix single, where he criticized Landron's common usage of the nickname "King of Kings".^[10] Don Omar responded to this in a song titled "Ahora Son Mejor", part of his album Los Rompediscotecas.^[10]

El Cartel: The Big Boss was released by Interscope on June 5, 2007. Ayala stated that the album marked a return to his hip-hop roots as opposed to being considered a strictly reggaeton album.^[11] The album was produced in 2006, and included the participation of will.i.am, Scott Storch, Tainy Tunes, Neli, and personnel from Ayala's label. Singles were produced with Héctor Delgado, Fergie, Nicole Scherzinger and Akon.^[11] The first single from the album was titled "Impacto", and was released prior to the completion of the album. The album was promoted by a tour throughout the United States, which continued throughout Latin America.^[11] He performed in Mexico, first in Monterrey, where 10,000 attended the concert, and later at San Luis Potosí coliseum, where the concert sold out, leaving hundreds of fans outside the building.^[12] Ayala performed in Chile as well, and established a record for attendance in Ecuador.^[13] He also performed in Bolivia, setting another record when 50,000 fans attended his Santa Cruz de la Sierra concert.^[13] This show was later described as "the best show with the biggest attendance in history" and as "somehappy that his album had sold more than those of Juan Luis Guerra and Juanes, and that this was an "official proof that reggaeton's principal exponent defeated the rest of the genres".^[14] Ayala made a guest appearance in an album titled "Caribbean he loved the color reed|Inner Circle]], Bounty Killer, Elephant Man and Wayne Wonder.^[15] In July 2008, Ayala announced that as part of his work, he would produce a cover version of Thalía's song, Ten Paciencia.^[16] Prior to the album's release, Ayala scheduled several activities, including an in-store contract signing.^[17] On February 27, 2009, he performed at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival in Chile.^[18] In this event, the artists receive awards based on the public's reaction. After performing "Rompe", "Llamado de emergencia", "Tú me dejaste caer", "Gasolina", "Limpia parabrisas" and "Lo que pasó, pasó" over the course of two hours, Ayala received the "Silver Torch", "Gold Torch" and "Silver Seagull" recognitions.^[18] On April 24, 2009, he received the Spirit of Hope Award as part of the Latin Billboard Music Awards ceremony.^[19] The recognition is given to the artists that participate in community or social efforts throughout the year. The single "Grito Mundial" was released on October 8, 2009,^[20] in order to promote his ninth album, Mundial. Despite releasing "El Ritmo No Perdona (Prende)" more than a month before, that single was not considered the first official promotional single.

Film and other career projects[link]

Ayala has negotiated promotional deals with several companies outside of the music industry, releasing merchandise under his name. In 2005, he became the first Latin artist to sign a deal with Reebok, in order to produce accessories,^[21] including the licensed clothing line "DY", which was released in 2006.^[22] He also teamed up with the company to have his own shoes and sporting goods made, which were first distributed on May 23, 2006.^[11] Reebok continued the partnership with the introduction of the Travel Trainer collection in July 2007. In August 2007, Pepsi began an advertising campaign titled "Puertas", in which Ayala is depicted returning to his youth by opening a series of doors.^[23]

In 2008, Ayala participated in a campaign to promote voting in the 2008 general elections in Puerto Rico. This initiative included a concert titled "Vota o quédate callao".^[24] On August 25, 2008, Ayala endorsed John McCain's candidacy for President of the United States, stating that McCain "has been a fighter for the Hispanic community".^[25] As part of this campaign, Ayala moderated a debate titled “Vota o quédate callao: los candidatos responden a los jóvenes”, which was aired on October 9, 2008.^[26]

Ayala has worked in the film industry as both an actor and producer. His acting debut was the lead role of Vampiros, a film directed by Eduardo Ortiz and filmed in Puerto Rico.^[27] The film premiered at the Festival of Latin American Cinema in New York, where it received a positive reaction. This led Image Entertainment to produce a DVD, internationally released in March 2005.^[27] Ayala played the main role "Edgar" in Talento de Barrio, which was filmed in Puerto Rico and directed by José Iván Santiago. Ayala produced the film, which is based on his experience of growing up in a poor city neighborhood.^[28] While the film is not directly a biography, Ayala has stated that it mirrors his early life.^[28] Talento de Barrio's debut was scheduled for July 23, 2008, in New York's Latino Film Festival.^[29] After the premier, Ayala expressed satisfaction, saying that he had been invited to audition for other producers.^[30] On release, Talento de Barrio broke the record held by Maldeamores for the most tickets to a Puerto Rican movie sold in a single day in Caribbean Cinemas.^[31]

Ayala has been involved in the administration of three organizations, the first being El Cartel Records which he co-owns with Andres Hernandez. He also created the Fundación Corazón Guerrero, a charitable organization in Puerto Rico which works with young incarcerated people.^[32] On April 26, 2008, he was presented with a "Latino of the Year Award" by the student organization Presencia Latina of Harvard College, receiving it for his work with Puerto Rican youth and creating Corazón Guerrero.^[33] On February 6, 2008, Ayala announced in a Baloncesto Superior Nacional press conference that he had bought part of the Criollos de Caguas' ownership.^[34]

Personal life[link]

Ayala has kept most of his personal life private, rarely speaking about it in interviews.^[35] He has said that he avoids doing so because such details are the only aspect of his life that are not public and that they are like a "little treasure".^[35] He made an exception in 2006 when he spoke about his relationship with his wife and children in an interview with María Celeste Arrarás in Al Rojo Vivo.^[35] He stated that his marriage is strong because he and his wife are "friends above anything", adding that he has tried to ignore other temptations because "weakness is the reason for the downfall of several artists."^[35] He also described his "very close" communication with his children, in which he tries to offer advice against drugs and negative influences.^[35] His first daughter was born when he was seventeen years old,^[35] which he has described as confusing at first, adding that raising a daughter at that age was a hard experience.^[36]

Studio albums[link]

• 1995: No Mercy
• 2002: El Cangri.com
• 2004: Barrio Fino
• 2007: El Cartel: The Big Boss
• 2010: Daddy Yankee Mundial
• 2012: Prestige

Filmography[link]

Film

Television

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Puerto Rico portal
	Music portal

• Latin American music
• List of Caribbean music genres
• List of Puerto Ricans
• List of Puerto Rican songwriters
• Urban contemporary

References[link]