Luis Díaz Portorreal, best known as Luis Días, was a musician, composer and performer of popular music born in the Dominican Republic. He was immersed in the popular music and customs of Dominican folklore. In the artistic realms he is known as "El Terror" (''"The Terror"''), due to his particular performance style and his overtones. He was the author of lyrics and music that fused many diverse musical styles. In some circles, Luis was considered to be the Father of Dominican Rock, due to his contributions to alternative music and his experimentation with Dominican rhythms blended with rock guitar patterns. In his fusions, Luis accomplished fusions of rock,

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

with more than 40 ethnic rhythms from 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 ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, such as Merengue, Bachata, and Mangulina, among many others.

Biography

The composer, guitarist and singer named Luis Díaz Portorreal was born in Bonao, Dominican Republic, on June 21, 1952. Since childhood, he felt a direct impulse to become a musician, given that his father was a

Tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * "Tres" (song) by Juanes * "Tres", a song by Líbido from their album ''Hembra'' * TrES, the ''Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey'' * Templi ...

player, (an instrument similar to the guitar used in rural Dominican towns), and his mother was a singer of

Salves A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the surface of the body. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol ...

. Lively melodies and rhythms, along with the artistic environment that contained them, were natural surroundings in his life. He covered his first musical lessons in his own hometown, with the musicians Juan Zorrilla and Tatán Jiménez, and at his 16 years of age he formed his first music band, "Los Chonnys". In 1970 he changed his residence to

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

with a main objective of studying psychology at the

Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo The Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo (UASD) (Autonomous University of Santo Domingo) is the public university system in the Dominican Republic with its flagship campus in the Ciudad Universitaria (lit. University City) neighborhood of San ...

(UASD). He died in Santo Domingo on December 8, 2009, after suffering a heart attack and other complications therein. His funeral procession was one of the longest in recent Dominican history, parading through the barrios of Santo Domingo.

Career

In 1972, upon the initiative of the sociologist Dagoberto Tejada, he began as a guitarist and singer in the band Convite, a musical band on a mission to rescue a variety of rhythms found in the island from obscurity. Other original members were Dagoberto himself, Ana Marina Guzmán (singer), José Enrique Trinidad and José Rodríguez (lyrics and backup vocals), Miguel Mañaná (percussion), José Castillo (percussion) and Iván Domínguez (percussion). Convite was a true musical novelty during that time. They had notable participations at "El Festival Internacional de la Nueva Canción "Siete Días con el Pueblo"" (International Festival of the New Song "Seven Days with the People") in

, 1974, in which Dias' composition "Obrero Acepta Mi Mano" (Laborer, Accept My Hand) was named as the official theme song, and was afterwards recorded by different protest song bands such as "Expresión Joven" (Dominican Republic) and "Los Guaraguao" (Venezuela). After "Convite" broke up (1978), Días formed another band named "Madora" together with Gustavo Moré, Wellinton Valenzuela, Carlos Fernández, and Luis Ruiz. In this new experiment they sought a fusion between

and Antillean folklore. In "Madora," Luis culminated a full decade worth of reelaborating and restoring root songs of Dominican tradition. That year he also participated in the XI

World Festival of Youth and Students The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

La Habana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 1978. Between 1980 and 1982, Luis Días traveled to New York City, where he focused on teaching workshops about traditional Dominican music at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

. During this time he was deeply influenced by

and

punk culture The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...

Birth of Dominican Rock

Although various styles of rock music had been performed in his native country for quite a few years prior, Dias' return to the

in 1982 represents for many observers the authentic birth of

Dominican Rock Dominican Rock (known as "Rock Dominicano" in Dominican Republic) is rock music created by Dominican groups and soloists. Originating in the 1980s with the start of Luis Dias' band Transporte Urbano, successful bands such as ''Tribu Del Sol'', '' ...

. He formed the band Transporte Urbano (Urban Transportation) together with Juan Francisco Ordóñez (guitar), Guy Frómeta (drums), Héctor Santana (bass guitar), José Duluc (percussion) and Bruno Ranson (saxophone). A few years later, Hector Santana was replaced with Peter Nova on the bass guitar. In Transporte Urbano they would pour a wide variety of their musical influences, from Bachata to heavy metal.

Awards

In 1983, he was granted a national award for his composition of the main theme song for the Dominican Carnival. The theme was named "Carnaval", but is better known as "Baila en la Calle" (Dance in the Streets). The theme's first performers were

Sonia Silvestre Sonia Silvestre (16 August 1952 – 19 April 2014) was a Dominican singer from San Pedro de Macorís. She was married to the broadcaster, producer and host Yaqui Núñez del Risco. After they divorced, Silvestre moved to Mexico, where she re ...

and Luis Días himself. By 1985, the very popular Dominican ''merenguero''

Fernando Villalona Fernando Villalona, the first artist named "El Mayimbe" (born in Loma de Cabrera, Dajabón Province on May 7, 1955, Ramón Fernando Villalona Évora), is a Dominican merengue singer who began singing in the early 1970s, his popularity started ...

recorded the song with the label Kubaney. To date, the aforementioned version has achieved the highest levels of popularity and recognition. In 1984, his L.P. Luis "Terror" Días came on the market, which mainly contained songs in Merengue rhythm, such as "Ay Ombe", "Liborio" and "La porquería", among others. In 1985, he participated in the XII

(Moscow). Together with

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born June 7, 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has wo ...

he was commissioned to compose the main theme for Carlos Cristalini's short film ''Las Pausas del Silencio'' (The Pauses of Silence). They received the silver award for Best Original Music at the Philadelphia International Film Festival in 1984. In 1986, he published a book titled ''Tránsito Entre Guácaras'' (''Transportation in Between Caves''), a work of poetry taking

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

myths as a source of inspiration. He was also contracted by

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...

to compose the song "Los Niños Sin Padres" ("Children Without Parents"), which was performed alongside singers Sergio Vargas and Sonia Silvestre. More than three hundred of his songs have been recorded by various artists and bands. Some notable examples are:

Sergio Vargas Sergio Pascual Vargas Parra (Villa Altagracia, Dominican Republic, March 15, 1960) is a performer of merengue and bolero, who was very popular in the 80s and 90s, during the "golden age of merengue" and today remains active as one of the leadin ...

("Marola", "Las Vampiras", "La Novia"), Kaki Vargas ("Los Mosquitos Puyan"),

Wilfrido Vargas Wilfrido Radamés Vargas Martínez (; born April 24, 1949 in Altamira, Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic) is a band leader, trumpeter, vocalist, arranger, composer and producer who was instrumental in making the merengue style a worldwide pheno ...

("La Pringamosa"),

("Mi Guachimán", "Yo Quiero Andar", "Andrecito Reyna"), Dionis Fernández ("El Guardia del Arsenal"), Los Hijos del Rey ("Rocapiedra"),

("Carnaval (Baila en la Calle)"), Alex Bueno ("Gigante"), July Mateo "Rasputin" ("El Carrito") and Marc Anthony ("Si He De Morir"), among others. Among the many awards he has received are Lyricist of the Year (Casandra Awards, 1989) and Composer of the Year (Casandra Awards, 1990). After several years of performances in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

region, the United States and South America, and after taking his art to Paris,

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, Moscow,

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Madrid,

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Barcelona, and

Lisboa Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

, in 1991 he returned to New York, where he would continue his intense work surrounding culture and ethnic studies. At this stage in life, Luis Días composed the sound track for several films, such as the short film "Portrait of Teresa" (1993), which was presented at the San Juan Cinemafest. Another highlight is his collaboration with

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

in the soundtrack for the film ''Blue in the Face'' (1995), in which Marc Anthony performed his song "Mi Barrio" along with a rap by Kaz and

Remi Leku The Remi (Gaulish language, Gaulish: ''Rēmi'', 'the first, the princes') were a Belgae, Belgic tribe dwelling in the Aisne (river), Aisne, Vesle and Suippe river valleys during the La Tène culture, Iron Age and the Roman period. Their territory ...

. In 1997, he returned to

, where he received great support from the audiences at his concerts, and celebrated the release of his first compact disc recordings. In 1999, the Centro Cultural de España in

and "Colecciones El Europeo" selected his work to release a compilation titled ''Jaleo Dominicano + Homenaje a Luis Días'', this being the first time that said institution selected an artist from the American continent for such a distinction. That same year, he was appointed as Director of the Music Department at the Casa de la Cultura Dominicana in New York. Between 2002 and 2003, he began recordings for ''Radio Macana'', an album produced by Reynaldo García Pantaleón y Lliam Greguez, and that would include participation of his band "Las Maravillas" in the sessions. This project includes his work during Luis' stay in New York between 1999 and 2002. Despite being an independent experimental production, the album included songs that are quite representative of Luis' particular style. In the year 2004, he is named by the Dominican Government as "National Cultural Patrimony". A concert was held in

in celebration of this meritorious distinction, which was recorded and released in a DVD titled "Luis Terror Días: El Terror en Vivo". In 2005, upon a request by the Centro Cultural España in

, he organized a Merengue band to perform some of his main compositions made popular by other artists. This performance was recorded and later released as a DVD titled "En Vivo desde el CCE: Luis Terror Días, Merengues". That same year he authored the sound track for the Dominican film ''La Maldición del Padre Cardona'' (''The Curse of Father Cardona''). In 2006, he was involved in a controversy with the Colombian pop-singer

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

and the Haitian singer/producer

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

, due to a section in their song " Hips Don't Lie" in which they make use of the chorus of Días' "Carnaval (Baila en la Calle), " yet with no mention of Días in the song's credits. Luis Dias died in Santo Domingo, on December 8, 2009, at 57 years of age due to heart attack, kidney, and liver complications.

Discography

Albums * ''Luis “Terror” Dias'' (1984) * ''Merenrock'' (1988) * ''El Accidente'' (1998) * ''Vickiana: Las Sesiones De 1985'' (2000) * ''La Yola'' (2000) * ''Radio Macana'' (2003) * ''Tiempo De Ocio'' (2009) Singles & EPs * ''Baila En La Calle'' (1983) * ''El Transporte Urbano'' (1983) * ''Luis Dias Trio'' (1999) Compilations * ''Jaleo Dominicano + Homenaje A Luis Dias'' (1999) * ''La Suite Folklorica Dominicana'' (2001) * ''Lo Mejor Del Terror (2009)''

References

Sources

*Arvelo Caamaño, Mario. ''La primera tierra'' (in Spanish), 1st edition, May 2000. Pags 51–54

External links

*https://soundcloud.com/luisterrordias *https:www.youtube.com/channel/UCGvBbcpAaYmeCL38oqx3ywQ *https://twitter.com/luisterrordiaz *https://www.instagram.com/luisterrordias/ *https://www.facebook.com/terrordiaz *http://www.cielonaranja.com/dias-literatura.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20070927081330/http://aniveldeblog.typepad.com/anivelde/2006/08/lluvias_empaan_.html *http://patinbigote.com *https://web.archive.org/web/20100519014815/http://luiselterrordias.com/ *https://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=FuriaSonica *https://web.archive.org/web/20091212221333/http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=226522 {{DEFAULTSORT:Dias, Luis 1952 births 2009 deaths People from Bonao 20th-century Dominican Republic male singers Dominican Republic guitarists Dominican Republic composers 21st-century Dominican Republic male singers 20th-century guitarists