The Spanish band “Aventura” released a statement in December saying that they were going to have a 2016 reunion tour. The band broke up in 2011, so fans are ecstatic at the prospect of a reunion. Aventura was started in 1993, by Anthony “Romeo” Santos, Henry Santos, Lenny Santos, and Max Santos. Their main goal was to make traditional Bachata music more mainstream. Bachata is known as “a genre of Latin music with European, Indigenous, and African musical elements. It was originally created in the Dominican Republic, where the boys in Aventura have roots. They managed to integrate Bachata into modern music, releasing many hit songs with Bachata elements.

Henry, Lenny, and Max started making music while attending South Bronx High School in New York City. The Band’s name was originally “Los Teenagers.” They competed against other bands and preformed until 1999 when they were signed by BMG. They signed under the name “Grupo Aventura” and eceived a lot of pressure to copy the Backstreet Boys, but they stayed true to their mission to create their own sound. They stepped away from the music producers and agents and decided to do things themselves. Aventura refused to let producers mold their sound and turn them into the cookie-cutter boy band everyone thought they should be. They thought it was important that people saw them as genuine as possible. The Dominican boy band surprised the world day after day, stepping out of the norm. What they were trying to do with their music was keep the Bachata element dominant, but break the rules and change it to an R&B style that people couldn’t resist. When the band separated, Romeo Santos and Henry Santos embarked on solo careers while Lenny Santos and Max Santos joined Bachata artist Steve Stiles to form a new band, known as Vena. Another way their music differs from Bachata is the song topics. Typical Bachata music is full of melencholy, but the boys of Aventura chose to write about seduction, love, and relationships, following along with the typical young pop star. In the 1880’s and 1890’s, there were thousands of Dominican Immigrants coming to America. They came from a country where Bachata was the equivalent of American pop music, to a country where most people didn’t know what Bachata was. Since the boys of Aventura grew up listening to both Bachata and American Pop, they were able to artfully blend the two for everyone to enjoy.

When Erica Rodi ’17 was asked what she thought of Aventura, she originally remarked, “I haven’t heard of this band before.” However, upon hearing some of their music, she adds enthusiastically, “I think I would see them in concert!” On the other hand, Paisley Dianastasis ’17 stated, “I don’t think I would go see them in concert. I just don’t think I would understand their music very much.”

Aventura just had a short reunion tour in February. There were originally four shows on the tour, but all four sold out in merely 45 minutes, so, luckily for all fans, a few more were added on. For those who didn’t get a chance to see them, don’t worry, they plan to release new show dates soon!