Juan Luis Guerra Talks Differences Between Bachata Then & Now, Continues to Call The Beatles 'Bachateros'
Juan Luis Guerra is known for having a long career in the bachata genre, so he was the perfect choice to find out how the music has changed throughout the years.
Reporters caught up with Guerra at the Miami International Airport as he arrived to the city for the Premio Lo Nuestro. A "Despierta América" host asked him if he and artists like Romeo Santos and Prince Royce sang the same kind of music.
"Well, they are different with different influences," he said. "But they are all still bachata, and we are working for the good of the genre."
When the reporter said his songs had more "sensual" lyrics, Guerra said that his songs have always been and always will be romantic. He was then asked about his previous comments, where he said The Beatles sang bachata, even though the group didn't know it. He stuck by his comments.
In a recent interview with El Tiempo, he elaborated on why he thought the British band were bachateros.
He said that the only thing missing from "If I Fell" and "Till There Was You" to qualify them as bachata were the bongos.
"And also 'And I Love Her,'" he said. "Of course they are bachatas, but The Beatles never knew it."
The Beatles were hugely influential for Guerra, who said he learned to play instruments after studying the band.
"I learned to play music following their songs," he said. "If you look at the way I harmonize, it has very much to do with The Beatles."
Guerra laughed when asked if it's true that Dominicans only have space for baseball and merengue. He said that there was some truth to that statement, explaining that his own father played amateur baseball and represented the Dominican Republic.
"But it's true that what we most produce in reality are musicians and baseball players," he said.
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