Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born 7 June 1957)[1] is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer.

[6] He does not limit himself to one style of music, instead, his music incorporates a wide arrange of diverse rhythms such as merengue, bachata, bolero, balada, fusion, salsa, cumbia, mambo, cha-cha-cha, pop, rock and roll, reggae, classical, R&B, folk, blues, jazz, funk, soul, rock, hip-hop/rap, son cubano, and religious, amongst many others.

According to Guerra, this first album was based on jazz tunes and concepts he had learned at Berklee, and it "wasn't intended to be a commercial hit."

[7] In 1983, after a performance in front of the Dominican entrepreneur Bienvenido Rodríguez, Juan Luis Guerra was signed to Karen Records.

These works gained more recognition, and the band was nominated to attend the OTI (Organization of Iberoamerican Television) Festival to represent the Dominican Republic.

It featured the hit single "El costo de la vida", a song that decries corruption in Latin America and the rising costs of living as a consequence.

Other songs included in this album protest the poor conditions in many Latin American countries, the celebration of the 'discovery' of the Americas ("1492"), and the double standards of first-world nations.

"My PC", My Computer), "Palomita Blanca" (Little White Dove), and "El Niágara en Bicicleta" (The Niagara on Bicycle).

In the United States, he visited cities including Miami, Chicago, Washington D.C., Orlando, Boston and a concert at New York`s Madison Square Garden.

[11] In January 2006, Guerra performed at Berklee's 60th anniversary, along with other artists such as Paul Simon, Herbie Hancock, Michel Camilo and Chiara Civello.

That same year, he recorded with Diego Torres in "Abriendo Caminos" (Opening roads) and with Maná in "Bendita Tu Luz" (Blessed Be Your Light).

On 16 March 2008, he and other artists participated in the Paz Sin Fronteras concert organized by Juanes, celebrating the end of the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador.

"[14] On 9 May 2009, Guerra was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music at its commencement ceremony.

Later that year, he collaborated with the Spanish singer Miguel Bosé on his album Papitwo, in the song "Yo creo en Ti".

[17] Guerra has recorded several songs in English, like "July 19th" on his 1994 album Fogaraté, and more recently "Medicine for My Soul" and "Something Good" with Italian singer Chiara Civello.

Some of his songs have verses in both English and Spanish such as "Woman del Callao", "Guavaberry", "Señorita" on his 1995 compilation album Grandes Exitos as a bonus track and more recently "La Llave de Mi Corazón".

In 1988, he made his debut as a songwriter for other artists such as fellow Dominican musician Taty Salas, for whom he wrote the music for De tu boca, a song with which he participated in the now defunct OTI Festival, reaching the top 3 category.

He also composed songs for Mexican artists like Emmanuel (No he podido verte, recorded in 1990) and Luis Miguel (Hasta que me olvides 1993 and Te necesito 2003).

His lyrics are often charged with intentionally simple, heavily metaphorical, or popular expressions, such as "Burbujas de Amor" (Bubbles of Love).

[21] On 17 October 2008, he participated as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO in an event called "Levántate y Actúa contra la Pobreza y por los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio", in Bavaro, Dominican Republic, during the International Conference of the Americas.