Aventura

Since their 1999 debut, Dominican-American group Aventura has transcended its pop, boy-band origins and evolved into one of the most popular and influential new bachata groups to emerge from New York. Formed in the Bronx by the quartet of Anthony Santos, Lenny Santos, Max Santos and Henry Santos Jeter, Aventura was originally known as Los Teenagers, and pursued a smooth Latin pop and r&b sound reminiscent of Menudo.

But as the group matured, so did its sound, which expanded to incorporate elements of bachata, hip-hop and reggaeton. In 1999 the foursome signed with the BMG label and released Generation Next, which was released to some small acclaim.

Aventura's breakthrough album was 2002's We Broke The Rules, a brash, confident mashup of styles that resonated with the new generation of bi-lingual Dominican and Latino immigrants living in the U.S. The album's fluid mastery of urban American and traditional island styles reflected the dual indentity that comes as second nature to so many young Latinos in the U.S. Songs sung in both English and Spanish only reinforced this appeal, and the song "Obsesión" became a smash hit on Latin radio—both in the U.S. and abroad.

Surprisingly, Aventura's appeal extended beyond their peers in the U.S., and by the time of 2003's Love & Hate the group were genuine superstars in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and beyond. Bouyed by ever-more-sophisticated musicial arrangements and their sensitive yet streetwise personas, Aventura was injecting a new kind of urban energy into bachata—and scoring more hits and selling out stadiums in the process.

But it was 2005's God's Project that really put Aventura over the top, with hit after hit like Por Tu Orgullo," "Ciego de Amor" and "Ella y Yo," a blockbuster collaboration with Puerto Rican reggaeton superstar Don Omar. God's Project also found these brash bachata upstarts reaching out the traditional bachata community with a collaboration with Dominican singer Antony Santos (no relation).—Tom Pryor