Louis "El Maravilloso" Loizides is one of the founders of the
bachata movement in the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
. Several of the island's most popular bachata musicians, such as
Luis Vargas and
Antony Santos
Antony Santos a.k.a. El Mayimbe, now Anthony Santos, (born 5 May 1967) is a Dominican musician and singer. He is one of the top-selling Bachata artists of all time. He is known as one of the pioneers of modern Bachata in the early 1990s with ...
, have labeled Louis the father of Bachata music.
Loizides has been a strong proponent of the "Power Bachata" movement, which uses a combination of the electric guitar and
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
. This movement never caught on, and as a result Loizides slipped from notoriety and has since retired. But many think he will make a comeback and he has started to tour several venues in the United States.
Beginnings
Unlike most bachata singers, Loizides was born in
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
He built a raft to escape
Castro's regime in the early 1960s. Originally he intended to travel towards Miami, but he had a passion for Dominican culture and set sail for the Dominican Republic. There is some dispute about this. Several sources believe that Loizides did not sail in the right direction and went towards the Dominican Republic by mistake.
He settled in
Puerto Plata in 1965. He worked in a local bar/brothel and learned to play the guitar for its customers in order to earn tips. While the earliest bachata recording is usually attributed to
José Manuel Calderón in 1961,
Loizides is considered by many to be the influential founder of the bachata movement.
Legacy
Loizides is credited with the invention of several new bachata dancing patterns including the turn-style dip and cross-front return. These patterns are traditionally used on his birthday, March 11,
by many notable
bachateros.
In 2013 several rumors of Loizides' death circulated throughout the Bachata community in the Dominican Republic, but none of these rumors have had much credibility.
External links
Bachata Music History
Discography
1975: ''Grande y Beautifl''
Track list:
# Parte Trasera
# Cerveza
# Spandex y Zapatos
# La Escalera a La Cabina del DJ
# Pasiones
# Los Cubanos y El Dominicano
# Mi Pequeña Balsa
1985: ''Bragas Gato'' (unreleased concept album)
Track list:
# Melón Dulce
# Guitarras y Claves
1986: ''Cintas Rojas''
Track list:
# Tomates
# Me Encanta el Accordeón
# Gigantes de la Biblia
# Letras no Tienen Ningún Significado
# El Amor Físico
# La Vena en Su Teta
# El Muñeco
# Tu madre
# De Ti Me Separo
# Much Love
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loizides, Louis
Living people
Cuban musicians
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Bachata musicians
Dominican Republic musicians