Kinito Mendez

Kinito Mendez
Born: 1963, Padre De Las Casas

www.mostwanted-online.nl/ shop/catalog/images/...

Having started out in his early childhood singing in bands in the small town of Padres Las Casas , Kinito Mendez now ranks among the most important innovators around on the Dominican merengue scene today. After working with the Coco Band and producing fresh-faced boy band Rikarena in the 80s, Kinito launched his solo career with El Hombre Merengue (The Merengue Man) in 1995, topping Latin charts with hit single “Cachamba.” His songs are written in a style he calls “merengue refranero” in which call-an-response singing is prominent.

In his later releases the singer, composer, producer, and arranger has renovated merengue by drawing on Afro-Dominican traditional styles that have been ignored, even repressed, by mainstream Dominican culture. One such genre is palos, a percussion tradition played on skinny, stick-like drums, which is associated with voudou ceremonies. The 2001 release, A Palo Limpio features a song, “Suero de amor,” which is a based on a salve, a devotional song to a voudou deity that fuses hymns from Catholic liturgy with African-derived drumming.

Kinito’s usage of palos and salve music in his merengues has proved very popular, making commercial merengue hits in an age in which rival Dominican genre bachata is dominating the airwaves. He is also changing the way Dominicans think about their traditional music, once a source of embarrassment because of its “African-ness.” Discos in the DR have even begun to throw fiestas de palo, palos parties in which traditional drumming troupes play for booty-shaking club-goers. Kinito is taking his country back to its roots.

Contributed by: Jake Gold