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Romeo: Where you from?
Like from...
Queens or Brooklyn or...?
Mero: BX all day.
Might catch me on like, Vice, and like 183rd, bro.
Romeo: You serious?
Mero: Deadass.
It was Yo! All merengue, bachata, salsa, bolero.
That was it.
Romeo: I've always said that New York is like,
I mean, the Bronx.
[music]
Assistant: Marker.
Mero: Alright, brother.
So, like, in your own words,
what does bachata mean to you?
Romeo: That's a really good question.
I'ma have to tell you in Spanish though.
Mero: Yeah. Go ahead.
[music]
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
Woman: Please make my life and if Aventura is here,
I'm going to die.
[music]
Crowd: Romeo! Romeo! Romeo!
[music]
Romeo: To appreciate MetLife...
[music]
...we need to understand where bachata started.
[music]
We need to appreciate what happened in the past.
[crowd cheers]
[crowd cheers louder]
[music]
Romeo: A lot of people don't have the story clear.
[crowd cheers]
You ready?
Announcer: The situation in the Dominican Republic
is clothed in mystery.
Romeo: We need to appreciate what happened in the past.
Announcer: Dictator's evil war reign of terror and bloodshed.
Man: The rise from...
Announcer: ...the grimmest of poverty...
Mero: ...to the city...
Romeo: We need to evolve.
Mero: ...to the Bronx.
Reporter: Santos is set to rock Yankee Stadium.
Romeo: You need to reinvent yourself.
Mero: That meteoric rise to MetLife.
Romeo: You need to be very passionate.
You need to love this.
And I love this.
[music]
Mero: Bachata started in the campo,
on the rural countryside.
The genre was really reserved for people,
poor people, on the outskirts.
So, to have a star of your caliber
go around the whole country and do free shows...
Romeo: Right.
Mero: ...that's big, bro.
[music]
It was like something that...
I really needed.
[music]
Romeo: Something that I've had in mind
for quite a few years now.
I thought about it when I was in Aventura.
like you just get caught up
and you never give things priority,
and you should.
[muffled singing]
Romeo: It truly reminded me of when I started
with the guys in Aventura
because we used to perform in every pueblo from DR.
[music]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd singing]
[Teodoro singing with crowd]
[singing]
Mero: Romeo's tour returns to bachata's roots,
in the campo.
But bachata didn't always sound like this.
To understand bachata's journey,
we have to go back to the beginning.
So, I went back to el patio, the Dominican Republic,
to find bachata's origins
in order to fully appreciate how far the genre has come.
My name is Joel Martinez.
But you probably know me as Mero or The Kid Mero.
Like Romeo, I also grew up in the Bronx
in a Dominican family
surrounded by Bachata both old and new.
Given that Romeo and I have that in common,
Romeo asked me to go on this journey to lend my perspective,
though a perspective very similar to his own.
So dope to be a part of a project like this.
Where do I begin?
♪ Esta noche yo he venido ♪
Mero: José is like an OG.
To put it in like hip hop terms,
he's Grandmaster Flash and Romeo is like Jay-Z.
There's so many elements of the old mixed in to the new.
♪ Porque lo que yo he sentido por ti no he podido ♪
[music]
Mero: Bachata was born in the countryside
of the Dominican Republic
under the reign of a cruel dictator.
Announcer 1: The Dominican strong man...
Announcer 2: ...Dictator Rafael Trujillo.
Announcer 1: ...Rafael Trujillo.
Mero: Rafael Trujillo.
Announcer 1: One of the most absolute iron-fisted rules
in modern history.
Announcer 2: A rule which created
fabulous wealth for a few
and the grimmest of poverty for the majority.
Mero: He killed tens of thousands of people.
Trujillo hated bachata.
He thought bachata was too poor, too vulgar,
and amoral, so he banned it.
But against his wishes,
the music was kept alive in the countryside,
in local bars, brothels and gatherings
by performers who would later be referred to
as the first bachateros.
[music]
♪ Con la otra mano una copa de vino ♪
Mero: Bachata continued to grow in the impoverished outskirts
until May 30th, 1961.
Everything changed.
[announcer music]
Announcer: A 31-year reign of terror and bloodshed
comes to an end in the Dominican Republic
as dictator Rafael Trujillo is shot down by seven assassins.
He ruled by the gun and died by the gun.
[music]
Mero: And the floodgates opened.
With Trujillo's reign over,
bachata emerged from the countryside.
And exactly one year later...
Mero: Along with Calderón
records from the likes of Luis Segura
and Leonardo Paniagua
were pivotal as bachata grew in popularity
in the genre's early years.
♪ ¿Qué será de mí con tantas penas en mi pobre vida? ♪
♪ ¿Qué será de mí...? ♪
Mero: Seeing José from the beginning
and now seeing where Romeo's taking it...
is wild.
[music]
Mero: When you did that, "La gira del pueblo,"
rocking with the people
that don't necessarily come from means.
Romeo: Yeah.
You know, these are people
that they're not necessarily able to afford a ticket
when I go to Olímpico in Santo Domingo.
So, I knew I had to do it.
[music]
Mero: You hit a lot of towns that most people don't hit,
especially people, artists of your caliber.
And one of those towns was Moca
where your father is from.
Romeo: When we were originally supposed to do that show,
Mero: Yeah.
Romeo: The weather wasn't really helping us.
So, it got postponed and then it rained again.
They were about to postpone again
and I said, "Look, let's just do this.
With rain or without rain, let's just do this."
[music]
♪ Vete pal diablo, mujer ♪
Romeo: It was beautiful to be able to connect, you know,
Mero: Yeah. Yeah.
Romeo: There had to be a few cousins.
Mero: Yeah.
♪ Así soy yo de piedra y hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie puede vencerme ♪
♪ Así soy yo de piedra y hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie puede vencer ♪
♪ Yo salí intacto de tu infierno ♪
♪ El diluvió no me afectó ♪
♪ Hoy yo sigo invicto a tus juegos ♪
♪ Y tu hermana me besa mucho mejor ♪
[music]
Mero: When bachata left the countryside
after Trujillo's death,
this is where it went.
The capital of the Dominican Republic:
Santo Domingo...
...although it didn't stop here.
[crowd cheers]
But to understand the next phase of bachata's trajectory,
we first need to understand
what makes bachata, bachata.
I go to meet with a group of local musicians
to learn the basics of the bachata sound,
the instruments, the techniques,
the rhythms.
From like, a technical standpoint,
explain bachata to the layman,
somebody that has no idea what bachata is.
[music]
[tapping instrument]
[laughing]
[tapping instrument]
[crosstalk]
[tapping instrument]
[music]
Mero: The illest thing though about the genre of bachata
is that it works in any atmosphere,
you know what I mean?
In any setting.
Huge concert, it works.
Intimate setting here and it works,
you know what I mean?
Like it's such a dynamic genre of music
that you can go to anywhere and it just works.
[music]
♪ ¿Quién te dijo que no puedo acabar con tu atropello? ♪
♪ ¿Quién te dijo que el dolor no tiene límites ni freno? ♪
Mero: So, you already know bachata started in the campo.
Now, we're in the city.
We're in Santo Domingo.
We're in la Zona Colonial,
which is like the Times Square of Santo Domingo.
So, the music has become more mainstream,
you know what I mean?
The rise from there to here...
...to MetLife is bananas, man.
[music]
Mero: To reach those heights,
bachata had to cross an ocean.
Trujillo had banned immigration out of the Dominican Republic.
But after his death,
leaving the island became possible for the first time.
[music]
Economic and political instability
led to mass migration.
Over 9,000 Dominicans moved to the U.S. a year,
particularly in New York
in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan.
The differences between the two environments,
New York and the Dominican Republic, were vast.
So, pioneers created social clubs
and the Americanized version of "colmados"
in search of community among their fellow Dominicans.
Here, bachata found a home abroad.
Man: Domino!
Mero: And soon, Dominican culture took hold
in a neighboring borough, my hometown of the Bronx.
[music]
Tommy Mottola: The Bronx is probably the most unique place
certainly in this country with respect to talent,
and I would say maybe in the world.
Romeo: Growing up in the Bronx for me
was an incredible experience.
You know, you kind of have...
Tommy Mottola: So, there's a lot of history there
and a lot of roots from immigrants, right,
which we're all from.
And certainly, Latin music had its foothold there.
Romeo: It was like a mix of a different culture
in every corner.
You know, like, you go downstairs,
you listen to a little bit of hip hop.
You got the neighbor rocking some salsa.
You open the window in the third floor,
you hear some merengue.
Lenny Santos: I wasn't drawn to bachata at the beginning
because it sounded kind of like really old.
Like, we didn't look cool listening to that type of stuff
at the age of 14, 15, 16.
But when this artist came about,
called Anthony Santos,
I was like, "Wow, that sounds cool.
I like the way the guitar sounds.
[music]
Luis Vargas, Teodoro.
Thalía: And then suddenly, boom, bachata in your face.
[music]
It was like real music...
...versus all the pop culture going on
with MTV and everything.
Boom, real music.
Lenny Santos: These artists began singing with more feeling,
more melodic flows, and...
Romeo: Juan Luis Guerra.
Chi Chi: That was the sound.
You know what I mean?
So, it's like, "It's not broken, don't fix it."
Then along comes these four guys, right?
[music]
Lenny Santos: I met Romeo
and I didn't believe his name was Anthony Santos.
I met him through one of my musicians.
And he told me, "Hey, there's this kid.
"He sings all the time in the lunchroom.
"And I don't know what is his voice.
"I never heard a voice like that in my life.
"It sounds crazy.
You gotta hear him."
So, me and Anthony are conversating,
I'm like, "Your name is Anthony Santos?"
Like, "Yeah, look at my ID."
"Oh, yo, it is."
Then, he's telling me,
"Oh, you know this song by him?
You know that song?"
I'm like, "Yeah, I know that song.
Play it."
[humming]
"Yo."
[music]
[muffled music]
Romeo: I started doing music in this...
literally in this room.
I just started, you know, like, writing songs.
I had a really strong passion for writing.
Mero: Yeah?
[music]
I can use an example lyrically.
♪ It hurts my di... ♪ ♪ It hurts my di... ♪
What does that mean?
He's like, "My di... dictionary."
So, he will leave that to your imagination.
And it was straight up.
You know, it was vulgar.
Like, you knew what he meant.
I was listening to everything.
I know as much about Biggie and Tupac and Hov
as much as I know about Luis Vargas,
Raulín, and Anthony Santos.
Mero: Yeah.
Romeo: But I know my shit in salsa too.
Mero: Right, right.
Romeo: And I think that that plays a big part in why my music
even early on like, that fusion
where it wasn't something I was forcing
or I was doing intentionally.
It was just organic.
It was just me and my friends and my cousin,
Lenny, Mikey and Henry having a good time.
[music]
We brought that, you know...
Mero: Like, a swag to it.
Romeo: We got Bronx swag.
Mero: Yeah.
Romeo: It goes, "5:00 in the morning."
[inaudible]
Romeo: Like I said, we were just having fun.
It was just like, "Yo."
This is what we know how to do.
And me personally doing what I knew how to do best.
Some of my closest friends still say that,
like, "That's the best shit you do
and the only shit you do good."
[laughter] You know?
Mero: Yeah. Yeah.
Lenny Santos: We finally got the first gig.
It was a birthday party.
And I'm thinking about it right now.
I remember every single detail.
So, he goes...
He was always dressing nice.
That was always his thing,
fashion, smelling good, and his hair done.
We actually had to get some guys
to walk 10 blocks with the speakers.
Then we started getting restaurant gigs here and there.
We'll go perform three, four sets in one night
in the middle of a school night.
Three sets in one night.
We'd be finished, like, by 6:00 in the morning.
Oh, we got school the next day.
Like, we never said, "We're gonna be famous.
We're gonna kill it.
We're gonna sell out arenas and stadiums around the world."
We never... we never felt that.
And I remember from one day to another, kept creating.
And some of the songs I did with Aventura in our first album,
I was living with these records for nearly seven years.
[music]
♪ ¿Cuándo volverás? ♪
♪ Si yo te quise, si yo te amé ♪
♪ Ay, mami linda, vuelve otra vez ♪
Romeo: We first dropped an album as just "Teenagers."
So, that album flopped.
And we were just hurt.
because, you know, we felt like we were like intruders.
You know, that's what people would tell us.
Bachata fans would be like, "Yo, that's not bachata.
You can't do this.
You can't speak Spanglish.
You can't dress that way."
Romeo: Yeah.
I remember when I first went to DR at the age of like 17,
not knowing that reputation of what bachata represented.
I would go around telling people super excited,
"Yo, guess what I do.
Guess what I sing."
And then I started, you know, educating myself.
I'm gonna always follow my gut.
I'm gonna always follow my gut when it comes to creating,
when it comes to what type of music I should be doing.
And going back to the Aventura days,
we were a little disappointed that the first Aventura album
didn't really take off the way we thought it would.
But we were passionate about music.
I recorded four songs with the guys.
And we started giving these songs in a CD to friends
because they loved the songs.
Now, you just don't give it to anyone
because this is going to be a part of our next album
when we leave this label,
when we go to the other one,
whatever, blah, blah.
And I don't know, bro.
Somehow, someway the shit got leaked.
It was like a virus.
And it started in New York.
And out of like 10 cars that would pass by,
seven, at least seven had these four records,
especially "Obsesión."
And what's interesting about that song
is that it wouldn't go away.
It would not go away.
Like, when we thought, "Okay, this is it, bro,
we're going to have to start recording other records,"
it started popping in DR...
Mero: Yeah.
Romeo: In the same way, it started in a pueblo, Baní.
The shit was just like blowing up.
From Baní, Santiago, next thing you know all DR,
Then the following year, we start popping in Europe,
same song, "Obsesión."
And Britney at the time,
which was like, on top of the world,
was number two.
And we had a bachata number one in Europe, the charts.
♪ Son las cinco de la mañana y yo no he dormido nada ♪
Joaquín Díaz: It started with Aventura.
Aventura created a style, a style of bachata.
Lenny Santos: You know, that music that's called
Announcer: Aventura!
Joaquín Díaz: When Aventura broke up,
Romeo took that even further.
Romeo started his solo album, which is Formula Vol 1.
[music]
Joaquín Díaz: Romeo has his own style,
which is a little different from Aventura.
It's two different sounds.
Romeo: Simple, yet elegant.
Joaquín Díaz: Romeo took it to the romantic version of bachata
where now girls were falling in love
with not only the songs but with him.
Tommy Mottola: It was so overwhelming.
The melodies were so incredible.
♪ Enfrenté a la competencia olvidando sin dolencia ♪
Tommy Mottola: And Anthony's voice as the lead instrument.
It's almost like an instrument that you've never heard.
[music]
Undeniably distinguishable from any sound
and any singer in the world.
Newscaster: The megastar Romeo Santos
is the biggest name in Latin music right now.
Newcaster: The Bronx-born musician
is having the biggest homecoming of his career.
He's already sold out back-to-back concerts
at Madison Square Garden.
And now, Santos is set to rock Yankee Stadium.
[music]
Marc Anthony: Yankee Stadium two nights.
I'm like, "What? What? What? What?
Who does that? Does it?"
Now the next guy is going to go,
"Romeo Santos did it."
He just took Latin music to a whole other level.
Joaquín Díaz: That definitely caught the attention
of all the other musicians from other genres.
They finally realized, "Wait, there's something there
we have not seen before."
[music]
Man: Yo, open the door!
Man: Coming.
Joaquín Díaz: He comes into the studio, I will say,
like an architect.
He has his drawings already here.
He sees the whole picture from beginning to end.
Romeo: It is a very intense process.
I consider myself to be a perfectionist.
[music]
Man: One more time.
♪ De lo único remedio lo acepta ♪
Man: Or...
♪ De lo único remedio lo acepta ♪
♪ Hay amores que ♪
Romeo: That's better. That's better.
Man: That's better.
Romeo: Papi...
It's like we're having fun.
But, you know, we're gonna live with these records
for the rest of our lives.
And we're gonna be gone, and these songs are gonna live,
so do it as best as you can.
Romeo: Stop, stop.
[music track playing through speakers]
Romeo: You always want to feel what you felt with first love.
What is first love?
"Obsesión."
"¿Cuándo Volverás?"
It's not that I'm trying to recreate that.
But I want to feel that feeling that I felt when I created that.
And I get that most of the time.
This is a record.
Man: Oh, yeah.
Sergio George: You see Romeo bringing in a person like Usher
on a bachata track and bilingual.
And you got both sides who don't even speak each other's language
understanding and they're feeling it.
It has to be real.
So, that's what's happening now with this new movement
of the Spanish-speaking Bad Bunny, Ozuna, Romeo
who are singing in Spanish.
And maybe they have a few words here and there in English.
But that's where the market was naturally going to go
because the Hispanic culture has exploded
all over the world now.
[music]
Mero: Having traveled across the country
in search of the soul of bachata...
...I finally got the chance to see Romeo live.
The fact that it's called, "La gira del pueblo"
and it's free is super fitting, bro,
because like, everybody's just regular people, man.
[crowd cheering]
So, personally, to me,
this is literally a dream come true, literally,
because I grew up listening to this guy,
making that connection from my youth.
So, you know, growing up
and listening to it in the background,
singing along in my little beat-up Honda Civic.
This is incredible, man.
[music]
♪ Mi memoria ha conservado lo que se ha llevado el viento ♪
♪ Y yo estoy estancado en esos tiempos ♪
♪ Cuando tú me amabas y con gran fulgor sentía tus besos ♪
♪ Dime, quítame esta duda ♪
♪ ¿Quién es esta extraña que se ha apoderado de tu ser? ♪
♪ ¿Dónde está la amante loca que me erizaba la piel? ♪
♪ Porque ya tú no me tocas como lo hacía esa mujer ♪
♪ Algo no anda bien ♪
[music]
Romeo: It just made so much sense to do this
with this album.
Mero: Speaking of that...
[music]
...Utopia is a fire concept.
How did you come up with that idea of doing duets
with like...
Romeo: This was a project that I had in mind
for maybe seven, eight years.
I wanted to do a concept album where I do one song
with each and every one of these pioneers of bachata.
This is my gift to DR for so much they've given me.
[music]
The plan, to be honest with you, was to only tour in DR.
But that was it, that was all I thought I was gonna do.
[music]
But the album came out
and something interesting happened.
People were getting the concept.
Mero: Yeah. It resonated with people.
Romeo: Yeah.
And I just had this crazy...
I was perceiving like, "This is special.
This is going beyond DR."
I had a conversation.
I'm like, "I need to do something big,
something that was like a statement."
And, you know, someone mentioned MetLife.
Marc Anthony: T woke up one day and was like,
"Yo, what's the biggest venue like?
And let's do it."
Romeo: At first, I was like, "Okay, we could do that."
And then I just asked, "What's the capacity?"
When they said, "87,000," I bitched out a little.
I was like, "Wait, wait, wait."
Marc Anthony: You know, I heard about this MetLife thing.
In the beginning, I was like, [gasping].
It just took my breath away.
I was like, "What you doing?"
Like, I'm like, "You've got balls, bro."
But if anybody could pull it off, it's T.
There are a lot of people talking shit.
He does it.
That's the difference.
Joaquín Díaz: No Latin artist had filled the MetLife
by him or herself.
Usually, artists will go in a group
of two or three or four artists.
And then, you know, they will sell tickets.
But Romeo by himself, all by himself.
Marc Anthony: Of course there's pressure
in putting yourself in that position
because it can go wrong.
Right?
And it will hurt you more than the good it does
when you put yourself in those big situations.
Group: Amen.
Marc Anthony: How many talks do you think he had?
How many people were like, "Naw, um, oh,
"I don't know. Eh, ah, oh, oh man.
"Oh, yeah, the budget.
Oh, I don't know."
He had to plow through that,
do it, kick ass, sell it out and he goes, "Next."
You have to be that guy.
And that's who he is.
Joaquín Díaz: He was able to fill the place up.
That's groundbreaking for bachata.
It's come a long way.
Romeo is taking it to the next level.
He broke the boundaries of bachata not being accepted
to bachata being respected.
[crowd cheers] [music]
[crowd cheers]
[music]
[crowd cheers]
You ready?
[crowd cheers]
[music]
[crowd cheers]
[music]
♪ No creo bien arrepentirme de los hechos ♪
♪ Jehová no se equivoca ♪
♪ Te me puso en el camino como prueba y tuve que aprender ♪
♪ Todo lo que brilla, no es porque sea oro ♪
♪ Tú no eres primavera, fuiste un invierno ♪
♪ Torbellino, tormenta, pero sigo en pie ♪
[crowd singing]
[crowd cheering]
[crowd singing]
♪ Tras la tempestad llega la calma ♪
[crowd singing]
♪ Y la excusa que no puedo ver ♪
Romeo: Santo Domingo!
♪ Así soy yo, de piedra y de hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie ♪
[crowd singing]
♪ Así soy yo, de piedra y de hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie puede vencer ♪
♪ Yo salí intacto de tu infierno ♪
♪ El diluvio no me afectó ♪
♪ Hoy yo sigo invicto a tus juegos ♪
♪ Y tu hermana me besa ♪
♪ Así soy yo, de piedra y de hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie puede vencer ♪
♪ Así soy yo, de piedra y de hierro ♪
♪ A mí nadie me puede vencer ♪
[crowd cheering] [music]
[crowd cheering]
Joaquín Díaz: Wow, that performance,
that was... [giggles]
Let me tell you.
It was a lot of work.
Romeo was the mastermind of putting it all together
and his conception of what he wanted for the show.
But we have a great team, of course, a great crew.
Everybody, you know, is to be credited.
Romeo: Give a big hand to all these musicians
that did this show for promotion only.
[laughter]
That's huge.
Papa, I believe in God.
Papa, but, nah, nah, nah, papa.
Artie Pabon: We didn't have a lot of time.
And we had a sort of drawing out
what Romeo envisioned the stage to look like, Utopia,
because it was all themed around the album "Utopia."
To a certain degree, he was the underdog.
In the industry, a lot of people doubted
the undertaking of one night, 80,000 people.
I know he was confident all along, but myself,
you know, I'm saying, "Man, the last thing I want
is to, you know, not to meet the expectations."
[singing]
Woman: Sing that shit. Sing it.
[singing]
♪ Baby ♪
Romeo: Let's go.
[music]
Artie Pabon: Man, how many people can go out
and in 90 days sell 80,000 tickets anywhere?
That's not an easy task on any genre.
Joaquín Díaz: Not only the crowd that we had,
but it was just the undertaking of so many artists.
Mero: He united all these legends,
who meant a lot to him and to the bachata genre.
[music]
♪ Es tu rabia que domina tu actitud ♪
♪ Ese ego que me clava de una cruz ♪
♪ Tus labios gritan: "Sal de aquí" ♪
[music]
♪ De perfecto no me puedo encasillar ♪
♪ Me arrepiento del pasado y voy a jurar ♪
♪ No te he vuelto a ser infiel, deja tus celos ♪
♪ Convénceme que no es orgullo ♪
♪ Que no me amas y no hay juego ♪
♪ Háblame, aunque sea con odio ♪
♪ Porque el coraje lo aniquilo con un beso ♪
♪ Me voy no queriendo ♪
♪ Pues no es secreto que yo te quiero ♪
♪ Yo interpreto el silencio ♪
♪ Si en la puerta no veo tu impedimento ♪
Mero: After seeing Romeo live,
I decided I needed to brush up
on my bachata dance steps ASAP.
Hey!
Hey.
Mero: Mero.
Man: Okay.
[laughing]
[music]
♪ Píntame la cara, yo también te voy a ayudar ♪
♪ A ver quién más provoca carcajadas ♪
♪ Tú y yo, payasos, fantaseando por su amor ♪
♪ Y ella ni devuelve la mirada ♪
♪ Así la ironía de este cuento ♪
♪ Ambos estamos expuestos a una burla emocional ♪
♪ Y sé, a mí no me cabe duda ♪
♪ Que no va a ser ni mía ni tuya ♪
♪ Pero déjennos soñar ♪
♪ Amores que causan las chanzas ♪
♪ Señalan se ríen así sin piedad ♪
♪ Pero son amores ingenuos ♪
♪ Despiertan sarcasmo en la vecindad ♪
♪ Porque aparentemente ella es feliz ♪
♪ Y se burlan de frente de ti y de mí ♪
♪ Y qué mala es la gente ♪
♪ Una careta no disfraza el dolor ♪
[clapping on beat]
♪ Una careta no disfraza el dolor ♪
[clapping]
♪ Una careta no disfraza el dolor ♪
♪ Porque aparentemente ♪
♪ Ella es feliz ♪
♪ Y se burlan de frente ♪
♪ De ti, de mí ♪
♪ Y qué mala es la gente ♪
♪ Una careta no disfraza el dolor ♪
♪ Porque aparentemente ella es feliz ♪
♪ Y se burlan de frente de ti y de mí ♪
♪ Y qué mala es la gente ♪
♪ Una careta no disfraza el dolor ♪
♪ El rostro alegre ♪
Romeo: [Inaudible]
♪ Somos dos payasos en un circo de amor ♪
[crowd cheering]
Frank Reyes: Whoo!
[music]
♪ Y voy a morir de un amargue ♪
♪ Y la asesina eres tú ♪
♪ Este masoquismo es rentable, aunque me afecta la salud ♪
♪ Me hago el sordo y ciego sabiendo me puede ir mejor ♪
♪ Cuidadito ahí, te crees que eres muy sabia ♪
♪ Amor, no quita conocimiento ♪
♪ Yo sé bien quién eres tú ♪
♪ Mala ♪
[crowd sings]
♪ Malvada, pero estás buena ♪
♪ No me importa que seas una canalla ♪
♪ Tú me enciendes y me apagas ♪
♪ Me subes a la cima y me lanzas ♪
♪ Y esa vaina me acorrala ♪
♪ Una psicología que me atrapa ♪
[guitar solo]
[music]
[guitar solo]
[music]
♪ Voy a permitir tus chantajes, aunque resulten mi perdición ♪
♪ Tengo una paciencia adaptable que se amolda a esta situación ♪
Mero: My journey here
in the Dominican Republic continues.
In one of my last stops, I head back to the countryside
to see how the music is kept alive
and experienced every day
in the kind of towns where bachata thrived
in its early years.
It's a way more intimate experience
than you might find in, say,
an urban environment like Santo Domingo.
[music]
♪ Mala... ♪
Mero: It's one thing to see a band at a fancy club...
...and a different thing to see a band in a place like here.
Like, Najayo...
where if you look out onto the ocean,
it's families here.
You know what I mean?
This is locals.
Like, this intimate, personal...
Like, the majority of bachata songs,
you're bearing your soul.
You know what I mean?
So, it's like here, that connection, the energy
like, you feel it.
It's palpable.
[music]
Romeo: I think bachata,
you know, one of the key elements is,
people do listen to what you're saying.
It's not like...
Certain urban records is about the beat.
So, if you have good lyrics on top of a good beat,
then that's a plus.
But bachata, you just can't just say something
that is insignificant.
Many artists have told the girl, "I love you."
How am I gonna make that special?
And you need to say something
that even if it has been said before,
it needs to be unique, in its own way.
Mero: It's like Dominican blues.
You know what I mean?
So, like, it's emotional music,
so you're more listening to it for feeling
as opposed to like,
"Yo, I want to see this dude shred on the guitar."
You know what I mean?
Like, even though they do shred, bro.
[music]
♪ La vi en el altar ♪
♪ Una diadema en su cabeza y aquel novio ♪
♪ Se llevó lo que más quiero ♪
♪ La imagen no puedo borrar ♪
♪ Quiero sacar de mi memoria su vestido blanco ♪
♪ El anillo en su dedo y el beso que no le di ♪
Romeo: Hey!
[music]
[crowd cheers]
Santo Domingo!
[music]
♪ Ella no dio despedida ni me invitó a la catedral ♪
♪ Por los chismosos del pueblo llegué hasta la iglesia ♪
♪ Murieron mis sueños ♪
♪ La vi en el altar ♪
♪ Precisamente cuando el padre los unió ♪
♪ Su boda iba a parar ♪
♪ Pero elegí que sea feliz causando ♪
[mocking crowd screaming]
[whispering] I fucking love you, Romeo.
And I love you, too.
Lenny Santos: We got to know him as Anthony,
the regular man, not Romeo.
Romeo, he has that persona and that's worked for him.
But Anthony Santos the real person...
this guy could be a comedian.
If he was not to be a musician anymore,
this guy is the funniest guy in the world.
Romeo: And Guillermo Conga.
[laughing]
Lenny Santos: He will have you dying laughing.
He's very caring.
He's really cool.
Tommy Mottola: He's a gentle, kind-hearted person,
a lot of fun.
Artie Pabon: He's a great human being.
But when it comes to his business, it's all off.
He wants his business handled right.
Gerry Grimaud Jr.: I remember one year, he's in Spain.
He called me after a concert,
I'm talking about a three, four-hour concert, right?
Right after the show, calling me up,
"Bro, remember to raise up this guitar
"and this little word I said in such and such mix.
Don't forget."
And, I'm like, "Bro, I got it."
Joaquín Díaz: He has certain work ethics that we follow.
Artie Pabon: Working day to day with Romeo,
it's, um...it's tense.
And you got to be sharp.
You got to be on point.
Romeo: See, when you do--
After that, go "Tú."
You're going-- [singing]
And it's, "Tú."
[singing]
Romeo: "Tú." Grizel Del Valle: Okay.
Romeo: Do that.
[singing]
Yeah, that shit sounds fucking beautiful.
Do that.
Grizel Del Valle: Good.
Romeo: Come on, girl.
Mate Traxx: I see how he is
with everything that he does, everything.
We're talking about recording, but that's everything he does.
And he brings out the best out of me.
I'm super honored by him.
Incredible.
Romeo: Okay, so...
I'm sorry.
Mate Traxx: You're fucking me up over here.
See...see...see this?
And we're recording. See this?
Look, look, look, look, look.
Watch this, right?
We're recording this right now.
Romeo: Don't get me on camera.
Mate Traxx: Watch, watch. Look, look. See.
Romeo: So, look, I want you guys to do something else.
Not like, not criticize but just like
how it could be overwhelming and...
Mate Traxx: I hope you're recording this shit right here.
This is beautiful right here.
You record this to have it for B roll.
Romeo: But share how I pay very well.
[laughter]
So...so...so...
Mate Traxx: Yeah. He does.
Let me tell you something.
You see how he is?
That come to show you, he's on top of it.
He's on top of everything,
even...even...even...even...
Romeo: When you're done here and you're mixing it in--
Mate Traxx: I haven't slept.
I've been up since yesterday, but you hear this, right?
That's what he is.
Romeo: And the cop, the Chichi, the reference,
I need that.
Mate Traxx: I was about to go home and sleep
because I'm dead tired.
No, he wants to keep on working.
Romeo: Okay.
[applause]
[giggles]
[music]
♪ Hoy pensé, si yo no te vuelvo a ver ♪
♪ No podré desprenderte de mi ser ♪
♪ A todo individuo le llegan etapas ♪
♪ Personas diversas ♪
♪ Eres la mujer de mis sueños con imperfecciones perfectas ♪
♪ No existe otro hombre en la tierra ♪
♪ Que me haga temblar de las piernas ♪
♪ Con solo mirarte estremezco ♪
♪ Hoy quiero ilustrar que por ti vivo ♪
♪ Tú para mí eres la luz ♪
♪ Amarte es una virtud ♪
♪ Voy a agregarte a la Biblia, por divina y tan buena ♪
Artie Pabon: Everybody got there
and saw this magnificent humongous stage
with waterfalls, with lights with you know...
It was amazing for anybody that attended the concert.
But leading right up to it,
and this is something nobody knows,
we get there the night before for rehearsals.
We still have 30% to complete.
There's wires hanging.
And Romeo is going to kill me for saying this.
You know, he's going crazy.
Nobody ever seen him going crazy and upset that,
"What's going on?
"Normally when I get to a stage for rehearsal,
"it's 100% done.
"Why do I got wires hanging?
Why aren't these screens on?"
So, it was a lot of tension.
Gerry Grimaud Jr.: Yes, super perfectionist.
Super perfectionist.
Artie Pabon: And it has to be perfection.
Mate Traxx: Everything.
Everything matters most to Romeo.
Everything.
When I mean everything, things that you'd be like,
"There's no way this makes sense."
Everything.
Artie Pabon: And he wants to know a small detail,
"What color are the curtains?"
And, you tell him the color.
[music]
Sergio George: Talent is only a small part of it.
You have to care.
A lot of artists who don't last don't care.
They just care about putting the money in their pocket
and buying watches and Rolex and a car.
And they don't care about that person
who has to sweat every day
and has to go to a job to work to have money
to afford to go see you.
You got to care about that person.
They don't have to buy your concert.
They don't have to do anything.
They can just take their money and go somewhere else.
So, show that person respect.
They have jobs, they have worries,
they have problems.
They don't have to go to your show.
I got to care about the public.
I got to care by putting my right show together,
but it's got to be right.
[laughing]
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ Que me enferma ♪
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ Me merezco una recompensa ♪
Raulín:Yeah!
[music]
Raulín: Romeo!
[music]
♪ Y hoy te pongo una querella ♪
♪ Que este abuso se resuelva ♪
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ Llevo un delirio que me enferma ♪
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ Merezco una recompensa ♪
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ He sufrido lesiones y varios perjuicios al corazón ♪
♪ Yo por su amor ♪
♪ Por el daño causado hoy te demando por un billón ♪
[music]
Raulín: Dominican Republic!
[music]
Raulín: For Romeo, I did it for you.
[music]
Romeo: Everyone that's a legend
is because they brought something different.
And I would love to see bachata 10 years from now
where a bunch of, like, you know, new blood,
you know, guys that when I listen to them like,
"Whoa, I never imagined this shit in bachata."
[music]
Mero: Utopia is a celebration
of the past and present of bachata.
For my final day in the Dominican Republic,
I traveled to the town of Cabarete
in search of the genre's future.
[music]
[students singing]
Mero: Pay special attention to shorty in the back
with the bandana just playing the güira
and the bass drum.
And she's freaking it, bro.
[students singing]
Mero: Killing it.
Skills, bro.
[music]
Romeo: We need guys to be in a basement right now
trying to be better than me.
Dudes that are like, "Shit, I want to be the new king."
Mero: Right.
Romeo: You need that ambition.
You need to...
And I actually embrace that.
I don't take offense when I hear a new guy talking about like,
"Yo, I want to be the new king," you know,
because it's not disrespectful.
You need that.
I wanted to also be better than everyone else,
you know, and that's what I would love to see.
It's what's really going to keep the genre alive.
Mero: Bachata has now come full circle,
reaching global status.
And in turn, returning to its roots in the countryside
to cultivate a new generation of talent.
It's been incredible to see bachata's past,
present, and future here in the DR and feel it too.
♪ Quizás no lo puedas comprender ♪
♪ Quizás no entiendas la narrativa ♪
♪ Pero algo que te puedo prometer ♪
♪ No quiero hacerle daño a tu vida ♪
[music]
♪ De ese amor que ayer ♪
♪ Fue lumbre ni se encuentran las cenizas ♪
♪ Eran épicos los besos ♪
♪ Hoy solo es juntar saliva ♪
♪ Llevo dos años pensando, estresando qué le hago ♪
♪ Ay, pa volverte a querer ♪
♪ Puse mis fuerzas, mas todo fue en vano ♪
♪ Amor enterrado no vuelve a renacer ♪
♪ Intenté exigirle al alma que te amara ♪
♪ Amenazando el corazón con un puñal ♪
♪ Como un zombie cuando tú me acariciabas ♪
♪ Ni mi carne has podido provocar ♪
[music]
Mero: Being Dominican but being born in the Bronx
and being first generation,
you took on that responsibility of pushing that culture forward
because bachata is really hard core Dominican music
and you took it to like, a worldwide stage.
Romeo: I appreciate that, you know,
because I want to be great.
And I want people to speak about my music,
you know, 30, 50 years from now and say like,
"Yo, that dude in bachata was like, fucking Michael Jackson."
That's what I work for.
That's why I create music to connect with people
and for people to have these type of conversations
in barbershops and salons.
[music]
Mero: That wasn't that...
That wasn't the whip music, bro.
[laughter]
[music]
Man: He made bachata cool.
[music]
Gangster!
[crowd cheers]
[laughing]
Mero: Since so many residents of the Bronx
originate from the Dominican Republic
and Puerto Rico,
everyone here has a deep connection to the music.
[laughter]
[laughing]
[music]
Sergio George: Romeo brings an energy to the live show
that's hard to explain.
It's not like he runs around the stage and dances and...
It reminds me a lot when I saw Prince perform in a show.
He commands attention.
And around him, they got all these things going on
but yet you're transfixed on him.
[music]
Thalía: Sometimes the artist and the audience,
they have a love affair.
[crowd cheers]
Romeo: I see you, baby.
She's like, "What the fuck is he gonna do?
What the fuck?"
Thalía: His audience love him, trust him,
and believe him.
Romeo: I'ma do whatever you want, baby.
[crowd cheers]
Artie Pabon: I will die asking people,
"You have to go see Romeo at least once,
even if you don't like his music."
Rest assured you will become a fan.
It's a transformation.
It's something else.
I can't tell you the number of people that have gone
to a Romeo show who have confessed,
"I've never been a fan of his music.
You know, I don't listen to bachata."
But once they go once, it's like crack, man.
You're hooked.
And you're gonna go again and again and again and again.
And I can't describe that high to you.
Romeo: I got that shit right.
[crowd cheers]
Artie Pabon: I've never done crack,
but I have gone to a Romeo show.
I don't get tired of watching.
I could watch him every night for three hours
and I'm looking forward to the next night.
And that's what happens, you know.
People become addicted to what this man can do in this stage
because it's not just...
he just doesn't sing a song like you're playing a CD.
It's an experience.
It's just phenomenal.
Mero: Bodegas are a New York City staple.
They first arrived in the city in the 1940s and 50s
as Puerto Ricans settled downtown.
Here Uptown in the Bronx though,
Dominicans opened their own bodegas
similar to the colmados from back home
where people not only shop for necessities
but gather socially as a community.
Of course, bachata was usually the soundtrack
inside and out.
[music]
♪ La he visto desde niño y no me he atrevido a hablar ♪
♪ Porque su mundo es fino, muy selecto ♪
♪ Yo soy un vagabundo para su clase social ♪
♪ Y en su familia odian bachateros ♪
♪ Tengo un plan pa llegarle necesito dinero ♪
♪ Es un mito que con solo amor serás feliz ♪
♪ Yo no tengo ni un chele, solo buenos sentimientos ♪
♪ Y mi amor no tiene fondos para llevarte a París ♪
♪ Voy a hacer un asalto ♪
♪ Voy a robar un banco para ser millonario ♪
♪ O ser un tumba polvo de un gran diputado ♪
♪ Y que me den un cargo ♪
[music]
Romeo: I don't feel like I've ever done something
that I'm completely satisfied with,
with the exception of Utopia.
And the reason why I feel that Utopia is the perfect project
is because there's more of them than myself.
I was able to go into different styles within bachata.
And it was very organic.
I didn't have to go listen to each of their albums,
study them again.
No, it was just something that...
It was my school.
Sergio George: He's so well-loved by all these artists
from back in the day
because he shows them a lot of respect
doing things that he doesn't have to do.
Or he can just go by himself and people are going to go anyway.
It's paying homage to all these legends from before,
it's a testament to him as a person,
that his responsibility is to leave that legacy
for future generations for them to not only say,
"Hey, look at me, but look at the guys
that came before me.
These are the guys I got my inspiration from,"
which is important for someone like him
who cares about the health
of not only the market of bachata
but also his people, Dominican people.
Marc Anthony: And as to how he wakes up in the morning,
"What didn't I do today, you know,
to represent my people better
or put this music that has changed my life
in the best position possible?"
That's just the way he is and not everybody's like that.
[music]
♪ Nos hizo daño y no veo le remordió ♪
♪ Pues la secuela de su engaño la hace sentirse superior ♪
♪ Hasta quedamos enemigos en discordia por su amor ♪
♪ Caímos feos en sus garras ♪
♪ No sabemos quién fue más idiota ♪
♪ Entre tú y yo ♪
♪ Los últimos tontos, una canción ♪
♪ Tráiganos tequila, whiskey y un litro de ron ♪
Lenny Santos: You know what's a good thing about bachata?
A song comes out now, you like it.
But then 15 years later on, when you hear it,
your heart melts.
You're like, "Wow.
I remember that song."
So, bachata leaves that print.
It's not like some other music like,
"Are you still playing that shit?"
But bachata is like, it goes on forever.
The older it gets, the better.
[music]
Lenny Santos: We had people bury their loved ones
to Aventura music.
We had people get married to Aventura music.
Do good things, bad things, okay things to Aventura music.
I won't get into details but a lot of stories.
♪ It's five in the morning ♪
♪ I'm feeling kind of lonely ♪
♪ Son las cinco en la mañana ♪
♪ Y no he dormido nada ♪
♪ Pensando en tu belleza, loco voy a parar ♪
♪ El insomnio es mi castigo, tu amor será mi alivio ♪
♪ Y hasta que no seas mía no viviré en paz ♪
♪ Hoy conocí tu novio, pequeño y no buen mozo ♪
♪ Y sé que él no te quiere por su forma de hablar ♪
♪ Además, tú no lo amas porque él no da la talla ♪
♪ No sabe complacerte como lo haría yo ♪
♪ Pero tendré paciencia porque él no es competencia ♪
♪ Por eso no hay motivos ♪
♪ No, no es amor ♪
♪ Lo que tú sientes ♪
Romeo: Cardi B.
♪ Se llama obsesión ♪
♪ Una ilusión en tu pensamiento ♪
♪ Que te hace hacer cosas ♪
♪ Así funciona el corazón ♪
Romeo: Let's go!
♪ Hice cita para el psiquiatra a ver si me ayudaba ♪
♪ Pues ya no tengo amigos por solo hablar de ti ♪
♪ Lo que quiero es hablarte para intentar besarte ♪
♪ Será posible que de una obsesión yo pueda morir ♪
♪ Y quizás pienses que soy tonto ♪
♪ Bribón y también loco ♪
♪ Pero es que en el amor soy muy original ♪
♪ No enamoro como otros, conquisto a mi modo ♪
♪ Amar es mi talento... ♪
Romeo: Henry, this is tradition.
♪ Disculpa si te ofendo, pero es que soy honesto ♪
♪ Con lujo de detalles escucha mi versión ♪
♪ Pura crema de chocolate, juntarte ♪
♪ Llevarte... ♪
[music]
Romeo: Ooh.
Y'all never thought
y'all was going to see this shit together, right?
[crowd cheers]
And we are Aventura.
[crowd cheers]
Should we do one more song?
[music]
J. M. Calderón: Okay.
[music]
♪ Luna ♪
Romeo: Come on, give me some light.
♪ Dime tú si ya me quieres como yo la quiero a ella ♪
♪ Como tan solo se quiere una sola vez ♪
♪ Luna ♪
♪ Que de noche nos alumbra ♪
♪ Juntito con las estrellas escuchando mi canción ♪
Romeo: Come on.
Beautiful.
Come on.
Joaquín Díaz: It represents the Dominican Republic.
And for that to be taken out of the country
and brought now to the States, South America, Europe,
you can hear bachata all over the world right now.
So, it's come a long way.
I mean, Romeo's taken it to the next level.
[music]
[crowd cheers]
Venezuela!
Romeo: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia.
Romeo: Nicaragua, Brazil.
Thalía: He's a poet.
He's a visionary.
Romeo: Chile, Bolivia.
Romeo: Mexico.
Marc Anthony: You're just dealing with a tour de force.
That's it.
Romeo: Puerto Rico.
[crowd cheers]
Tommy Mottola: This guy is... He's the king.
[crowd cheers]
[music]
♪ Nadie entiende cómo este amor funciona ♪
♪ No se quiebra, no se dobla, nada lo destroza ♪
♪ Les presto mi cerebro que examinen ♪
♪ Anularte de mi mente, ni quemando mis neuronas ♪
♪ Mami ♪
♪ Yo te amo hasta lo infinito ♪
♪ Sólido como un meteorito ♪
♪ Lo que siento jamás lo van a entender ♪
♪ Dudan ♪
♪ Los expertos buscan la cura porque te quiero con locura ♪
♪ Desconfían que sea humano, mujer ♪
[music]
Romeo: The kings.
[music]
You want this jacket?
[music]
♪ Yo te amo ♪
Romeo: The king stays king.
♪ Yo te amo ♪
[music]
[fireworks]
[drum solo]
[music]
[crowd cheering]
Romeo: I tried to tell them.
[crowd cheering]