On 23 September 2021, merengue star Wilfrido Vargas will emcee a tribute to Johnny Ventura at the Latin Billboard Awards. A Dominican singer and orchestra leader Vargas has had a very successful 50-year career in music. He was the king of the Miami Carnival in 2021.
“To say merengue is to say Johnny Ventura and to say his name is to say Dominican Republic,” said Wilfrido Vargas in a statement released on Wednesday, 22 September 2021 to announce the special role he will have at the Billboard Awards gala.
Merenguero Juan de Dios Ventura Soriano, whose stage name was Johnny Ventura and was also nicknamed “Caballo Mayor”, died last July at the age of 81 after a 60 year career in music.
Ventura was an extraordinarily talented merengue singer, composer and arranger. He was also a great dancer and entertainer. He successfully hosted several reality shows. He is a former congressman and was mayor of Santo Domingo.
The event will be celebrated at a gala at the Wastco Center in Coral Gables in Miami-Dade and will be broadcast live on Telemundo as of 7pm.
The Latin Billboard gala will bring together numerous stars and will be hosted by William Levy, Gaby Espino, Pedro Fernández and Maite Perroni.
The Billboard Icon Award will be presented for the first time to the band Maná, the Billboard Lifetime Achievement Award to Paquita del Barrio, and the Billboard Hall of Fame Award to Daddy Yankee.
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Billboard
23 September 2021