Ramón Orlando Valoy García (born July 29, 1959), is a Dominican musician, singer, arranger, composer, record producer and songwriter, besides being a gran maestro pianist in Caribbean rhythms. Ramón Orlando received seven Casandra awards in the 1992 ceremony, including the Soberano, which is the most important category in the Dominican awards ceremony. In 2005, he was nominated for the Latin Grammy Award in the Best Merengue Album category.[1][2][3]

Ramón Orlando
Birth nameRamón Orlando Valoy García
Born (1959-07-29) July 29, 1959 (age 64)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • Singer
  • Composer
  • Arranger
  • Record producer
  • Songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • Keyboards
  • Piano

Career edit

Ramón Orlando Valoy was born on July 29, 1959, in Manoguayabo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[4] He is the son of Cuco Valoy.

Ramón Orlando started his music career at age 14, as a singer, piano player, arranger, composer and songwriter in his father's merengue band called La Tribu.[5] He formed his own merengue music band in 1984 called "Los Virtuosos", later renamed “Cuco Valoy y Orquesta” with Peter Cruz y Henry García as lead singers.[6]

Years later, the Cuco Valoy group broke up and Ramón moved to Colombia to physically separate himself from the Dominican Republic due to his political differences with the Dominican president Joaquín Balaguer. Ramón Orlando then undertook a more ambitious musical project. He and then-famous merengue singers Peter Cruz and Henry García formed La Orquesta Internacional (The International Orchestra), in which Ramón Orlando intended to be the composer and musical director, while Cruz and García were intended to be the vocalists. However, of the first ten "single" songs to be recorded (and released individually), Ramón chose to sing four of them himself, which caused a split in the group. Peter Cruz and Henry García then each formed a short-lived group. Upon the two vocalists' departure, Ramón Orlando quickly hired some vocalists with voices sounding similar to those of Cruz and García in order to perform songs already gaining airplay.[6]

Ramón Orlando is also the composer of the theme El venao,[7] which found a large audience in several Latin American countries including Colombia, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Ramón Orlando shares with Juan Luis Guerra the greatest Soberano Award in 1992.[8] He was a nominee in the Latin Grammy Awards of 2005 for the Best Merengue Album (Generaciones) in the tropical category.[9]

Ramón Orlando serves as a pastor in a Protestant church.[10]

Discography edit

Awards edit

Ramón Orlando received in 1992 the highest award given by Soberano Awards; that year he received 7 awards, for which Ramón Orlando holds the record of receiving the most Soberano Awards in a ceremony.[11] In 2005, he was nominated to the 6th Annual Latin Grammy Awards as Best Merengue Album with Generaciones.

Arrangements edit

Ramon Orlando is a prolific arranger of latin music including merengue, salsa, bachata and ballads. During his ongoing career, he has completed more than 2,000 arrangements for his band, for Los Virtuosos, La Tribu, Los Cantantes, Cuco Valoy, and for other artists including Alberto Beltrán, Fernando Villalona, Alex Bueno, Milly Quezada, Rubby Pérez, Wilfrido Vargas, Luys Bien,[12] Miriam Cruz, Manny Manuel, among others.[13]

The following are some of well-known or recent arrangements by Ramón Orlando:

Song title Lyricist(s) Artist(s) Release Year Released
15,500 Noches Romeo Santos Romeo Santos Featuring Rubby Pérez, Toño Rosario and Fernando Villalona, and Ramón Orlando Fórmula Vol. 3 2022
Latidos de Tambor Cristino Gómez Ramón Orlando and Luys Bien Latidos de Tambor - Single 2022
Perdidos Ramón Orlando Ramón Orlando and Raquel Arias Perdidos - Single 2022
Creíste Ramón Orlando Antony Santos Creíste - Single 2013
El Perro Ajeno Ramón Orlando Rubby Pérez Tonto Corazón 2004
Yo Soy Ramón Orlando Ramón Orlando and Milly Quezada Generaciones 2004
Meneando La Cola Ramón Orlando ULS (Lead vocals by Sexappeal) United Latin for Salsa 2000
Maniquí Ramón Orlando Manny Manuel Rey De Corazones 1995
El Venano Ramón Orlando Los Cantantes de Ramón Orlando El Virao 1995
La Loba Ramón Orlando Miriam y las Chicas Nueva Vida 1993
De Qué Me Sirvió Quererte Reynaldo Armas Ramón Orlando y su Orquesta Internacional Orquesta Internacional 1986
Volveré Ignacio Roman Jimenez and Francisco Lopez Cepero Garcia Wilfrido Vargas (Lead vocals by Rubby Pérez) La Medicina "Wilfrido 86" 1985
Cometa Blanca Ignacio Roman Jimenez and Francisco Lopez Cepero Garcia Peter Cruz Orquesta Internacional 1985
Si Piensas Que No Te Amo Benny Goran Bror Andersson, Bjoern K Ulvaeus and Stig Erik Leopold Anderson Ramón Orlando La Tribu de Cuco Valoy 1984
Sé Que Te Perdí Mauricio Cardozo Fernandito Fernandito 1984
Te Extraño Ramón Orlando Cuco Valoy y La Tribu Qué Será Lo Que Quiere El Negro? 1983
Frutos del Carnaval Cuco Valoy Cuco Valoy & Los Virtuosos Sin Comentarios... 1981
Juliana Cuco Valoy Cuco Valoy Salsa Con Coco 1978

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Dos genios de la música". Listin Diario News. June 12, 2009.
  2. ^ "Ramón Orlando: El Maestro de la Música". Conectate RD. July 29, 2019.
  3. ^ "Complete list of 6th annual Latin Grammy nominations". November 4, 2005.
  4. ^ "Ramon Orlando exhorta a no vulgarizar los ritmos". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish). September 23, 2012. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "Ramón Orlando: "Mi papá siempre supo que yo sería un artista"". Listin Diario Newspaper. October 5, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Polanco, Fausto (February 27, 2013). "Ramón Orlando Valoy, biografía, trayectoria y la discografía de un maestro". El Portal.com.do (in Spanish). Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  7. ^ Ramos, Jorge (September 9, 2004). "Ramón Orlando asegura que salvó el merengue con nuevo disco". Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  8. ^ Ramos, Jorge (March 9, 2009). "El Soberano el premio más codiciado". Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  9. ^ Ramos, Jorge (November 1, 2005). "Expectativas por dominicanos en Grammy Latinos". Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  10. ^ Cruz Hierro, Ynmaculada (January 26, 2011). "Ramón Orlando asegura que salvó el merengue con nuevo disco". Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved December 19, 2013.
  11. ^ Polanco del Orbe, Fausto (May 19, 2020). "Ramón Orlando, el maestro con miles de arreglos y cientos de composiciones". El.Portal.com.do (in Spanish). Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  12. ^ ""Mujer amiga", nuevo merengue con arreglos de Ramón Orlando". La Información (in Spanish). January 12, 2022. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  13. ^ Polanco, Fausto (May 19, 2020). "Ramón Orlando Valoy es arreglista de miles éxitos". El Día (in Spanish). Retrieved December 11, 2022.

External links edit