December 10, 2019
JUAN LUIS GUERRA 4.40’S LATEST STUDIO ALBUM “LITERAL” IS THE MOST AWARDED & CRITICALLY-PRAISED TROPICAL RELEASES OF 2019
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One of Latin Music’s Most Awarded & Critically-Praised Tropical Releases Of 2019.
The First New Studio Album In Five Years From: “One of the most dynamic, emotional, and complete musicians in all of the Americas, ever”
JUAN LUIS GUERRA & His Landmark Album “LITERAL” Has Already Been Recognized By His Musical Peers With This Years’ LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS For Best Contemporary/Tropical Fusion Album And Best Tropical Song (“Kitipun”)
…And Recently Received A GRAMMY NOMINATION For Best Tropical Latin Album
This Adds To The Dominican Music Legend’s Career Recognition of
23 Latin Grammy Awards, Three Grammy Awards,
The Latin Recording Academy Person of the Year Honor,
The Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award & More
“Bears the hallmarks of Guerra's sophisticated artistry, but rendered with abundant tenderness, intimacy, and joy …Literal is Brilliant…an unabashedly romantic yet poetically poignant record. “ – All Music
“The Bachata Legend who revolutionized the genre…continues to experiment on his new LP — but he’s still endearingly himself - It’s in the little details that Literal shines brightest.”- Rolling Stone
“[From] the godfather of contemporary tropical music... a life-loving, set whose arrangements are an instant pick-me-up, a mood-enhancing answer to today’s global blues.” - Billboard
“Juan Luis Guerra is one of the most inventive and resourceful [songwriters] I know.
I love all of his music and he is one of my favorite Latin Artists – Shakira
“It’s amazing how Juan Luis Guerra brings people together, uniting different Generations.” - Luis Fonsi
“It doesn’t matter if you speak Spanish or not, He is amazing,
and his contribution to music & poetry is invaluable.” – Zoe Saldana (See Video Reel)
Juan Luis Guerra is a musician, composer, arranger, producer, and songwriter from the Dominican Republic. He is one of the most internationally recognized Latin artists in recent decades. His popular style of merengue has garnered him considerable success around the world. He is also credited for popularizing bachata music on a global level and is often associated with the genre. A 23-time Latin GRAMMY® and three-time GRAMMY® winner, Guerra has recorded more than 15 albums and won numerous awards.
With some 30 million albums sold around the world, Guerra is a Latin music pioneer whose early international successes included the classic “Ojalá Que Llueva Café." The track, which foreshadowed the global impact of current tropical urban stars is still instantly recognizable from its first notes.
Throughout his prolific career, Guerra has been reinventing the joyful rhythms of his native Dominican Republic with his band 4.40 and writing wonderful lyrics mined from the everyday lives of people in Latin America and beyond, empowering listeners at the same time as they dance their troubles away to his messages of “peace, harmony and love.”
He recently completed the U.S. leg of his “Literal Juan Luis Guerra and 4.40 Grandes Éxitos” world tour, supporting his latest album of the same name. Guerra’s 11-track LP traverses genres beyond his typical repertoire, including salsa, son and even electronic — flaunting the Berklee graduate’s boundary-pushing approach to Caribbean roots music. Literal was honored with two Latin GRAMMY® Awards in the categories “Best Tropical/Contemporary Album” and “Best Tropical Song” for Kitipun, and is nominated for a 2020 GRAMMY® for “Best Tropical Latin Album."
At the 2019 Billboard Latin Music Awards he received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Juan Luis Guerra is a living legend beloved and admired by his fellow musicians and the music industry, as well as by millions of fans around the world who proclaimed to feel the purest joy through his music.
EXPANDED RECENT PRESS QUOTES ABOUT JUAN LUIS GUERRA
The Bachata Legend who revolutionized the genre…continues to experiment on his new LP — but he’s still endearingly himself - It had been five years since Juan Luis Guerra last released a studio album: that is until the titan of bachata and merengue would unveil his latest LP, Literal. Guerra’s 11-track LP traverses genres including salsa, son and even electronic — flaunting [his] Caribbean roots music… As with previous releases, Juan Luis’ calling card is to venture further out to sea than other bachata players; the artist flaunts his classical Berklee training in lively horn breaks and jazzy compositions…. ‘Má Pa’lante Vive Gente’ is a heartfelt, salsa pick-me-up about believing in the ultimate good of humanity — one that might lift the spirits of any listener perturbed by these uncertain political times… [while] ‘No Tiene Madre,’ is a seething condemnation of materialism and consumer culture. But any longtime Juan Luis fan knows that, he’s just as skilled at delivering carefree, catchy meditations on joy; or on the curative powers of a simple kiss; or what it means to love someone…It’s in the little details that Literal shines brightest.” – Rolling Stone
Juan Luis Guerra's 'Literal' is a Tropical Lovefest: Stream It Now… Throughout his prolific career, Guerra has been reinventing the joyful rhythms of his native Dominican Republic and writing magical realist lyrics mined from the everyday lives of people in Latin America and beyond, empowering listeners at the same time as they dance their troubles away to his messages of ‘peace, harmony and love.’ …’Literal’ is a life-loving, 11-song set whose crystal-clear, instrument-forward arrangements are an instant pick-me-up, a mood-enhancing answer to today’s global blues... [from] the godfather of contemporary tropical music.” – Billboard
“FOUR STARS - With his smooth, multi-octave range and soulful delivery, Juan Luis Guerra has sold over 70 million records globally, and won an abundance of industry awards… He and his band 440 are beloved throughout the Latin music-loving world, for their innovations in merengue, and their resurrection of bachata as a commercial force. That said, his sound is much more complex and diverse, embodying elements from bolero, salsa, early rock & roll, and even gospel. On Literal, Juan Luis Guerra y 4.40 dig deep into diverse rhythms, but also elucidate a rainbow assortment of carefully crafted songs that celebrate life on its own terms with adventurous harmonic and melodic invention, lush, pillowy textures, and fluid dynamics.. Literal bears the hallmarks of Guerra's sophisticated artistry, but he and 440 render them with abundant tenderness, intimacy, and joy here…Literal is Brilliant…an unabashedly romantic yet poetically poignant record.“
– All Music
“simply one of the most dynamic, emotional, and complete musicians in all of the Americas, ever…
a true music genius… He is a composer, songwriter, guitarist, singer, and Grammy-Award winning producer…[with] a degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. He also studied philosophy and literature, all of which manifests itself in his musical range and lyrics…” - Houston Press