Domingo "Tatico" García Henríquez (July 30, 1943May 23, 1976), considered one of the best accordionists of

merengue tipico Merengue can refer to: *Merengue music *Merengue (dance) *Merengue típico, a musical genre of the Dominican Republic *Venezuelan merengue music *An adjective referring to the Real Madrid football club *An adjective referring to Club Universitari ...

, was born in Nagua,

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 ...

. His career began in the 1960s and the early 1970s. He was known for his skill on the accordion and the addition of new instruments to a standard merengue tipico band.

Personal life

His father's name was Bolo Henriquez. He has a son named Fary Henriquez who also plays accordion. He is the father of Erwin Mendez, who resides in the Dominican Republic.

Death

Tatico died in a car accident in Santiago, Dominican Republic, in the well-known barrio of Los Ciruelitos on May 23, 1976. The accident occurred while he was trying to cross a busy intersection while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Musical career

Tatico Henriquez began his career in 1966 by appearing on a very popular radio station in the Dominican Republic called Radio Quisqueyana with the help of disc jockey and radio host, Rafael Cardenas. At the time, Mr. Cardenas hosted a show called Musica Tipica Dominicana, which ran Monday to Friday from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Mr. Cardenas provided Henriquez with his first opportunity in the music industry and further assisted him in his career by accompanying him and hosting various of his concerts prior to his untimely death.

Innovative band composition

Henriquez was an innovator in the standard lineup of merengue tipico. In the past, the lineup was a two-row

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...

accordion,

güira The güira () is a percussion instrument from the Dominican Republic used as a percussion instrument in merengue, bachata, and to a lesser extent, other genres such as cumbia. It is made of a metal sheet (commonly steel) and played with a stiff ...

, tambora, Marimbula (a bass-like instrument), and occasionally,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. Tatico's band lineup included a two-row diatonic accordion, güira, tambora, two saxophones to harmonize with the accordion,

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

(usually playing rhythms around the tambora), and electric bass, in place of the marimbula.

Tatico musicians

*Guira – His brother Julio Henriquez; Domingo Reynoso; Milciades Hernandez *Tambora – Viejo Ca; El Flaco; Manon; El Flechú, Domingo Peña, Sibita, Pancholo (trio Reynoso). *Saxophone – Felix Díaz; Miro Francisco; Danny Cabrera *Electric Bass – Manochi; Nolo *Conga – Roberto "La Culebra" *Marimba- Domingo Peña.

Tatico Henriquez and Isaias "Saco" Henriquez

Tatico and his brother Isaias both recorded a CD. Tatico only sang while his brother Isaias played the accordion. Their musicians for this disc were Julio Henriquez (guirero), Isaias "Saco" Henriquez (accordionist), Tatico Henriquez (singer), Danny Cabrera (saxophonist) and Manochi (marimbero).

Discography

* Merengues..! (1970) * Merengues..! Vol. 2 (1971) * Merengues..! Vol. 3 (1972) * A Gozar Con Tatico (1974) * Tatico Interpreta Sus Últimas Grabaciones (1978) * Los Hermanos Henríquez (1980) * Sus Últimos Merengues (1981) * Merengues (1981) * 20 Éxitos (1989) * Merengues..!: 15 Éxitos Vol. 2 (1991) * 20 Grandes Éxitos (1994) * Homenaje a Tatico Henríquez (1994) * El Disco de Oro (1996) * Soy Cibaeño (1998) * Ídolo del Pueblo (2007)

Sources

iASO Records - Tatico Henriquez BiographyOrigenes y Trayectoria del Merengue de Enramada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henriquez, Tatico 1943 births 1976 deaths People from Nagua Dominican Republic musicians Merengue musicians Road incident deaths in the Dominican Republic 20th-century accordionists