Luis Quintero (born Luis José Germosen, 1916-1980) was a Dominican percussionist and bandleader who was considered “El Rey de la Tambora” in New York City during the mid-to-late 1950s. He is remembered for playing tambora with Ángel Viloria y su Conjunto Típico Cibaeño and for his classic style on tambora and command of straight-ahead merengues as well as pambiches. Quintero was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. At fifteen years old, he had already dedicated himself to mastering percussion instruments such as the tambora, bongos, conga, and timbales. He began his career in the mid-1940s in Santiago performing with the orchestra of Professor Manolo García alongside Dominican saxophonist, composer, and arranger Ramón Quesada who recorded with Luis years later in New York City.
Quintero migrated to New York City in 1952 and made his debut with Viloria's Conjunto Típico Cibaeño that same year. He used a tambora made out of wood with metal rings and screws instead of a tambora made with goatskin and tuned with cabuya or white sisal rope, which is what was traditionally used in the Dominican Republic. In 1954, Ralph Pérez's Ansonia Records offered Quintero the opportunity to form his own band called "Luis Quintero y su Conjunto Alma Cibaeña." The first vocalist of the conjunto was veteran Dominican singer Luís Vásquez who arrived from Puerto Rico. He recorded “Mi Negrita,” “Si me vas a querer,” “Ay! Caramba,” and “Como se baila el merengue” with Quintero's newly formed group in September of 1954. Vásquez debuted at the Manhattan Center with Quintero's Conjunto Alma Cibaeña on September 18th, 1954.
Luis Quintero was also a member of Ramón García y su Conjunto Nuevo Cibao, which was founded in 1954. He was featured as a soloist on a tremendous hit for the group titled “Juancito Trucupey.” In 1955, Quintero had a hit of his own with “Si Tú Nó, La Otra” (If Not You, The Other One) featuring Luis Vásquez on vocals. That same year, he was invited to record tambora with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra for an album of merengues, titled “Merengue! By Cugat!” as part of the propaganda for the Fair of Peace and Fraternity of the Free World in Cuidad Trujillo (Santo Domingo) (1). For a very brief period, after Luis Vásquez left, Puerto Rican-Dominican singer Casíto Morales stepped in as the vocalist for Conjunto Alma Cibaeña, recording four merengues with the band in 1956. Amid the American calypso craze, Quintero experimented with the fusion of merengue and calypso, building off the previous success that Juanito Sanabria and his orchestra had with Dioris on the single “La moña.” He recorded two popular calypso tracks, “Matilda” and “Mary Ann" with Puerto Rican vocalist Mon Rivera in 1957. In addition, Quintero met Dominican vocalist Milito “Tuti Fruti” Pérez, who had just settled in NYC, and performed with him at the Manhattan Center on September 13, 1957. By 1958, the Conjunto Alma Cibaeña had another hit with “La mamá y la hija” (The Mother and The Daughter) sung by Milito Pérez. Milito stayed on as one of the primary vocalists of the Conjunto Alma Cibaeña into the 1960s. Over the course of his career, Quintero recorded over thirty sides for Ansonia Records and was last featured playing tambora on the 1980 Ansonia Records release, "New Horizons" by Orquesta Metropolitana, reinterpreting the iconic merengue “A lo Oscuro.” He passed away soon after in December of 1980.
Luis Quintero y su Conjunto Alma Cibaeña / Merengues Vol. 1 (ALP 1233) is the first compilation of hits by Luis Quintero y su Conjunto Alma Cibaeña, introducing a new sound and tempo to the urban merengue típico scene of the era. The instrumentation on this album embraces mostly the urban style of orchestra merengues, with the addition of tenor and baritone saxophones for a more melodic sound, while still retaining elements of the rural merengue típico. Quintero's percussion virtuosity is on full display and there are excellent solos throughout, as well as amazing vocals. Recorded at the famous Beltone studios circa 1955-1958, the album was released in 1958, featuring the impressive singing talents of Luis Vásquez (lead vocals), Mon Rivera (lead vocals), and Milito Pérez (lead vocals). The chorus includes Yayo “El Indio” Pequero, Santos Colón, Chaguín García, and Raul Marrero, as well as the swinging saxophones of Ramón Quesada, and Miguel Ángel Rivera aka "Don Rivero." Luis Quintero leads the rhythm section with his unique repiques, or embellishments, on tambora, along with Jaime Richetti on güira, and the great Claudino “Lin” Torres on bass. Additionally, on piano-accordion, a young Jaime Tavárez contributed to key riffs on classic merengues of this album.
The album kicks off with the popular tune “Si tu no la otra,” sung by Luis Vásquez, a merengue about jealousy that was praised by the general public for its catchy chorus “si tú no me quieres me quiere la otra" ("if you don't love me, the other one wants me”). In addition, the accordion on this tune is improvising the jaleo or riffs, a contrast to other merengues on this album that feature the alto saxophone. This iconic merengue composed by the prolific Luis Kalaff has been reinterpreted many times throughout the years, but this early recording is still remembered and its success established Luis Quintero as a bandleader. Another excellent tune featuring the vocalist Luis Vásquez is “Dale Palo'' where the merengue is driven by the accordion weaved in with the guirero, or güira player, is a rhythmically fitting, joyful, and danceable record. This album features several fantastic tunes interpreted by the “Rey del Trabalenguas” Mon Rivera whose masterful and expressive interpretations of famous hits “Mi Caballo,” “Fiesta la joya,” “Conformidad,” “Juanita Morel,” and “La Resbalosa'' are a joy to listen to and highly danceable merengues. Milito Pérez excels vocally on tunes like the lively “La mamá y la hija,” another widely known merengue composed by Luis Kalaff, a signature hit for this conjunto. Other merengues interpreted by Milito are “El Papujito," which is about a bearded rooster, reflecting the cockfighting culture in the Dominican Republic. The tune was originally recorded by Trío Reynoso in the early 1950s and is a staple in the merengue típico repertoire today. And then there is “El Pichoncito," a fun-classic roots-y merengue with a great saxophone solo that occurs towards the end. The album closes out with the high-tempo salve merengue (a salve is a call-and-response Afro-Catholic religious song) “Me quiero casar,” an exhilarating track that will keep the dancers moving.
(1) Perez de Cuello, Catana, and Rafael Solano. El Merengue: Música Y Baile De La República Dominicana. Santo Domingo: Verizon, 2005, 360.
