Francisco Ulloa

Francisco Ulloa is a master of merengue típico, an ultrafast, traditional style of Dominican merengue. Accompanying his deeply romantic vocals on button accordion, Ulloa has fronted his own band since the 1970s and has had a string of hit songs including "Millonario De Oro" and "La Tijera."

The son of an amateur accordion player, Ulloa was born in the Puerto Plata region of the Dominican Republic, and spent much of his childhood with his grandparents while working as a palm tree climber before devoting himself to music. Ulloa obtained his first squeezebox in his teens and went on to become one of the most talented musicians to reignite the passion for the Dominican traditional style of merengue known as merengue típico, which had fallen out of favor with the advent of the more modern orquesta merengue genre.

His lighting-fast speed on the German-derived button accordion as well as his unique singing style prompted several recordings in the 1970s, eventually leading to international exposure with Merengue! on the Kubaney label. Francisco was featured (along with his group Conjunto Típico) on renowned Dominican artist Juan Luis Guerra's 1994 recording, Fogaraté, which brought about renewed interest in the traditional merengue style. —Rebeca Mauleon