Fogaraté

Fogaraté! is the seventh album of the famous Dominican songwriter and musician Juan Luis Guerra. It was released on July 19, 1994. The album mixed a variety of music genres including rural and flolklroic rots of merengue called "Perico Ripao" with elements of African soukus music and Tropical Music such as Reggae with the collaboration of African guitarist Diblo Dibala and Dominican accordionist Francisco Ulloa, along with Son, Bachata and Salsa. Also, the album features a particular, bachata-styled adaptation of the Lacrimosa movement from Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor and Guerra's first song fully in English "July 19". Exploring lyrics and themes about magical realism of Latin American literature and commenting on the politics of the Caribbean, for many fans and critics, Fogaraté! is one of his most musically complex album.

The album received widespread critical acclaim, with some music critics citing it as one of the best albums of 1994. Fogaraté! was nominated for Best Tropical Latin Album at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards and for a Lo Nuestro Award for Tropical Album of the Year at the 7th Lo Nuestro Awards. Also, Juan Luis Guerra won songwriter of the year at the 1995's BMI Latin Awards The album was supported by three official singles Vivire, La Cosquillita and El Beso de la Ciguatera were awarded as well. Also, two promotional singles were released: Los Pajaritos and Lacrimosa. Eventually, Fogarate won Tropical/salsa album of the year, duo or group at the 1995 Latin Billboard Music Awards.

Fogarate! peaked for five consecutive weeks at the top of charts in Spain and debuted at the top five of US Billboard Top Latin Albums and Tropical Albums. It reached the Top ten in Chile and Puerto Rico and top twenty in Netherlands and Portugal. Despite this, the commercial response for the album was moderate to limited in comparison to his blockbuster album Bachata Rosa (1990) and the million-sellers Areito (1992) and Ojala que llueva Cafe (1989). To promote the record, Guerra embarked some farewell concerts before taking a four-year hiatus due personal issues such as stress, pressure and sleeping problems which caused his conversion to Christianity. He came back with Ni es lo Mismo Ni Es Igual in 1998.