History

Transporte Urbano was founded by the Dominican composer Luis Días

Luis Días (composer)

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 1982, after he returned from a temporary stay in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

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Días, a pioneer of Dominican urban folk music and one of the founders of the folk group Convite, wanted to create Dominican music with a new vision of what it could be.
This arose from his contact with punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 and other rock expressions while living in New York City in the early '80s and led to the birth of Transporte Urbano.

Días chose a few young, Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...

-based musicians for this project: Juan Francisco Ordóñez

Juan Francisco Ordóñez

Juan Francisco Ordóñez is a guitarist from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is considered an innovator of bachata guitar language, through a fusion of blues, rock and jazz with his particular style..- Career:...

 on electric guitar, Guy Frómeta on drums, Héctor Santana on bass (later replaced by Peter Nova), Bruno Ranson on sax and percussionist José Duluc. Eventually the group settled into a guitar/bass/drums power trio format fronted by Días. (The Días/Ordóñez/Nova/Frómeta lineup is considered Transporte Urbano's classic lineup.)

In 1983, the band made their debut at the Altos de Chavón amphitheatre, opening for jazz musician Bob James, and in April of the same year for the British band English Beat, at the same venue.

Transporte Urbano's performance at "Varadero 87", a music festival celebrated in Cuba, became infamous when their appearance and music were considered "unsuitable" by certain Cuban cultural authorities, who were expecting a merengue

Merengue music

Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...

 or more traditional sounding group. The members of the band were "invited" to leave the country the day after the show. However, the young Cuban press supported the performance of the band, as well as noted Cuban singer/songwriter Pablo Milanés

Pablo Milanés

Pablo Milanés Arias is a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitar player. He studied at a conservatory in Havana. He is considered one of the founders of the Cuban nueva trova, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola...

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Transporte Urbano remained active on the Dominican musical scene until 2004, when they performed a show for the Dominican culture ministry, at a tribute to Días. Luis Dias died 5 years later in Santo Domingo, on 8 December 2009, at 57 years of age from a heart attack and kidney and liver complications.

Relevance

Transporte Urbano was the first band to make authentic Dominican rock. Although there were earlier rock groups on the island, this was the first time a Dominican rock band had a clear mark of originality. They are considered highly influential and Dias' being regarded "the father of Dominican rock" stems directly from his work with Transporte Urbano.

Along with the distinct social commentary content of Días' songs, the band mixed in the universal sounds of rock and jazz and referenced authentic Dominican rhythms, generating a new musical style.

Always a phenomenal live act, the trio's noted virtuosity was an ideal backdrop for Días' showmanship. Transporte Urbano performed songs written by Luis Dias exclusively.

Recordings

• 1999 Luis Días y Transporte Urbano En Vivo: Viva Canada!
• 2000 Vickiana Las Sesiones de 1985 (with Transporte Urbano)
• 2004 DVD Luis Terror Días: El terror en vivo (with Transporte Urbano and Irka Mateo)

Sources

• This article is based on a translation from the article in Spanish Wikipedia :es:Transporte Urbano
• Arvelo Caamaño, Mario. La primera tierra (in Spanish), 1st edition, May 2000. Pags 51-54 ISBN 0-615-11428-8