Aventura (band)

In 1993, Lenny Santos and his brother Max Santos formed La Banda Sueño. The group's lead singer at the time was a close friend who was not good. He did the job and was also a bit of a jokester in the group. He was soon kicked out of the group as Lenny and Max were looking for a replacement singer who could help them take their music career more serious. Lenny didn't know anybody in their neighborhood who could sing. He was later introduced to Anthony Santos via one of the group's musicians who attended the same school as Anthony. They clicked instantly, and the two started working on songs together. Anthony was a singer and composer who would sing with his cousin Henry at their local church choir. Anthony later introduces Lenny to his cousin Henry, who also joins the group. The group would perform for their neighbors, at local stores and in the streets for free in the Bronx. The group decided to change the name to Los Tinellers, a play on the word teenager. [3] The group consisted of lead members Lenny and Anthony.

In 1995, the group was discovered by Elvin Polanco when Lenny and Anthony asked him if they could perform at a local parade he was hosting.[4] Elvin, seeing potential in the group, became their manager. He helped them record their first studio album despite having no funds. They released their debut album in 1995 titled "Trampa de Amor" under Elca Productions.The album did not do well commercially, selling a total of five copies. Elvin Polanco ran into some health problems and the group was left without a manager at that time.

In 1996, with the help of new manager Julio César García, the group created a new image. Julio added Henry and Max as lead members. He made the group to resemble popular American boy bands. He renamed the group to Aventura. They signed a record deal with Premium Latin Music, Inc. They made their big break in 1999, with the hopes of breaking bachata music into the mainstream from its traditional base. [5] They slowly began to gather fans in the cities of Boston and Lancaster. The group was the first to experiment with bachata by fusing the genre with R&B, hip hop & rap, reggae and rock. Aventura broke bachata rules. They were the first bachata act to sing a whole bachata song in English. Anthony innovated bachata with fresh lyrics that incorporated songs with different themes, instead of just singing about heartbreak. [6] Lenny innovated bachata guitar with his use of electric guitars. He also innovated the tone of bachata guitar by adding guitar effects such as wah, phaser, distortion, tremolo and harmonizer. [7] Max innovated the bachata bass with his use of bass techniques such as slapping and bass slides. Max incorporated a lot of rock bass riffs into bachata. [8] Their sound helped make the genre mainstream, as showed with the success of their 2002 hit song "Obsesión". The song achieved huge success in many countries, topping many international charts like France, Germany and Italy. Since then they have blown up internationally with hits such as "Su Veneno", "Todavia Me Amas", "El Malo", "Te Invito", "Por Un Segundo", among others. Toby Love began his music career with Aventura and left in 2005 to pursue a solo career in bachata. They have been inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame. [9]

Aventura faced their biggest performance yet when they completely sold out the Madison Square Garden on September 1, 2007. They sold out the arena 360 degrees. They are the first bachata group to have done this. They were accompanied by Don Omar, Antony Santos, Wisin y Yandel, Miri Ben-Ari, Toby Love, and El Torito. [10]

In 2009, Aventura was invited to perform their hit single "Su Veneno" at the White House for the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. [11] They are the first bachata act to ever perform at the White House.

In February 2010, they sold out the Garden once again, but for a legendary four nights in a row. They surpassed american artists such as Lady Gaga and Madonna in ticket sales, being one of the first Latin groups to do so. [12] At one of the concerts they paid homage to Juan Luis Guerra, and even sang some songs with the iconic Dominican singer.

• Anthony "Romeo" Santos – lead vocals, songwriter, composer, co-producer
• Henry Santos – lead vocals, backing vocals, composer, producer
• Lenny Santos – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar, arranger, producer, band director
• Max Santos – bass guitar, rapper

• Toby Love – backing vocals, congas
• Judy Santos – female vocals

As Los Tinellers

• Trampa De Amor (1995)

As Aventura

• Generation Next (1999)
• We Broke The Rules (2002)
• Love & Hate (2003)
• God's Project (2005)
• The Last (2009)

• Unplugged (2004)
• K.O.B. Live (2006)
• Kings Of Bachata: Sold Out At Madison Square Garden (2007)

• 14 + 14 (2011)
• Todavía Me Amas: Lo Mejor De Aventura (2016)

• The Love & Hate Concert: Sold Out At The United Palace (2005)
• Kings Of Bachata: Sold Out At Madison Square Garden (2007)