José Manuel Calderón
José Manuel Calderón José Manuel Calderón (El Maestro de Bachata) is considered the first musician to record bachata with "Borracho de amor" and "Condena", in 1962 at the Radio Televisión Dominicana studios. Calderón's voice was unlike typical bachateros, in that he sang in baritone. He also innovated instrumentation in bachata, applying strings, horn sections and piano, as well as replacing the maracas with a güira.
Also recorded as Jose Manuel Calderon bolas de asis
José Manuel Calderón
- Born
- 1941 · San Pedro de Macorís.
- Nationality
- Dominican Republic
- Occupation
- guitarist · composer · singer
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José Manuel Calderón José Manuel Calderón (El Maestro de Bachata) is considered the first musician to record bachata with "Borracho de amor" and "Condena", in 1962 at the Radio Televisión Dominicana studios. Calderón's voice was unlike typical bachateros, in that he sang in baritone. He also innovated instrumentation in bachata, applying strings, horn sections and piano, as well as replacing the maracas with a güira.
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museum · 0e2740a6-c247-420c-a9f8-473316f1ccc6 · wikidata · Q612185
In this article
Identity
José Manuel Calderón is recorded as guitarist, composer and singer.
Discography
Calderón moved to New York City in 1967, and recorded with labels such as Kubaney and BMC. After five years, he returned to the Dominican Republic, only to find that the bachateros had been marginalized, since the genre itself had been associated with poverty and prostitution, and only Radio Guarachita, a nationwide radio station, played it. Disillusioned, Calderón returned to New York, where he found that a Dominican community was growing in Washington Heights, and was able to give rise to a popular bachata scene. Today, with the recent acceptance of bachata in the Dominican Republic and the US, Calderón receives a fraction of the recognition he deserves as one of the forefathers of the national genre. He continues to record and distribute his own recordings.
• Recordando Tu Amor (1960) • Sus Éxitos (1960) • Este Es José Manuel Calderón (1962) • Con la Misma Moneda (1966) • José Manuel Calderón y Sus Éxitos (1966) • Qué Será de Mi (Condena) (1968) • El Romántico (1974) • Más Éxitos de José Manuel Calderón (1980)
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- MusicBrainz artist record for José Manuel Calderón
Scholarly · MetaBrainz Foundation
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q612185: José Manuel Calderón
General reference · Wikidata
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Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.April 2016 Song Lyrics. lyrics.topmbadirectory.com.
- 2.Julie A. Sellers Bachata and Dominican Identity / La bachata y la identidad dominicana- 2014 - 0786476737 "Bachatero Edilio Paredes remembers the first bachata “Condena (Conviction/ Sentence),” recorded by José Manuel Calderón: “In 1962, the first recording of what we now call bachata was made. Then, it was called 'bolero de guitarra."
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MusicBrainz artist record for José Manuel CalderónMetaBrainz Foundation
Institutional witnessauthority record
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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