Here is the most exciting traditional merengue music you will ever hear! Joaquin Diaz’s enthusiasm on stage is totally irresistible.  His light-fingered accordion playing and  his infectious vocals drenched in Latin soul make this Caribbean maestro the best of the new generation of traditional folk merengue artists. His repertoire is a mixture of traditional and original tunes characterized by exhilarating rhythms.

Diaz’s musical career began on the streets of Santo Domingo (in the Dominican Republic) when he was nine years old. At the age of twelve, this king of accordion was playing in the most prestigious Regencies of the capital. Still in his teens he performed at the Pan-American Games in Porto Rico accompanying the Dominican Republic’s Ballets Folkloricos.

In 1990 Joaquin brought Dominican magic and his accordion wizardry with him to Canada. Now residing in Montreal, he and his extremely talented musicians have thrilled Latino and non-Latino fans alike, throughout North America and Europe.

Joaquin was awarded a grant by Canada Council for the Arts to study conjunto music in San Antonio Texas (the button accordion based traditional music of the Chicano people in South Texas), after attending several editions of the prestigious Int’l Festival of Accordion in this city, and having met the greatest masters, such as Mingo Saldivar, Santiago Jimenez, Eva Ibarra…he continues to explore new accordion styles (musette, jazz, Quebec folk) to make him a true accordion master.

Joaquin’s musicians sustain his own sense of rhythm, with devilish percussions (congas, tambora, guira, bongos, bass drum) and electric bass, and provide the energy of their back-vocals to the invigorating bachatas…His vocals are on a par with the world’s greatest, as he is a natural singer and showman.

Joaquin Diaz has travelled the world as an genuine ambassador of merengue music, and participated in prestigious festivals such as Rencontres Internationales de St-Chartier, Festival des Suds d’Arles, Festival International de l’Accordéon de Chartres (the 3 of them in France); International Music Festival (Huston, TX), Universal Forum of Cultures (Barcelona, Spain), Forde Music Festival (Norway), Festival Int’l de Louisiane, as well as the major Canadian folk and world music festivals (Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Vancouver, Montréal, Frosbite Fest. in Yukon,…), and of course the Carrefour Int’l de l’Accordéon de Montmagny (Québec).  This summer he again travels, to the Rainforests of Borneo, to the mountains of Switzerland, the plains of Estonia, and To the Canadian west and the US mid-west.

Quotes:

“In Diaz’ hands meringue is hard-core stuff, an exhilarating polyrhythmic ride on a runaway train” Chicago world music festival

“I was knocked out by a Diaz performance recently by a performance ...and decided to bring him to the festival” Judy Peiser, Memphis Music and Heritage Festival

‘Need a lift to your spirit, or just want to feel good all over” Al Riess, Dirty Linen

“Diaz puts on a smart show with those reckless rhythms from the Carribean island” Geoff Chapman, Toronto Star

‘Diaz’s merengue has a melodic sensibility… and is a master instrumentalist, expertly skittering through intricate accordion solos…’ Ramiro Burr, Sing Out

Crowds who hear him literally spring to their feet, dancing and clamouring for more of this exciting music from Dominican Republic” Arhoolie Records

Although exiled in Montreal, Joaquin Diaz, 43, is a strong and talented defender of diatonic accordion and the tradition of rural perico ripiao, these small ensembles typically cradling the nights of Santo Domingo. Caliente!
Jean-Pierre Bruneau, Accordéon et Accordéonistes

"Although the crowd responded positively to all the acts of the night, it was the last two acts that really spurred the capacity crowd to its feet. Joaquin Diaz and his band got the crowd swaying and sashaying to the infectious Afro-Caribbean rhythms of the Dominican Republic"
Churchill Edward, The Borneo Post, Malaysia

“Joaquin Diaz , the Dominican merengue-music ambassador, whose accordion playing and excellent vocals make his concerts an unforgettable experience.”
Viljandi Folk Festival

“Joaquin Diaz’s enthusiasm on stage is totally irresistible. His light-fingered accordion playing and his infectious vocals drenched in Latin soul make this Caribbean maestro the best of the new generation of traditional folk merengue artists.”
Rainforest World Music Festival, Borneo


Contacts: Heidi Fleming, FAMGroup, Montreal 514-844-7393  heidi@famgroup.ca
Merengue Productions: Ghyslaine Bernier, Montreal  514-849-8067 bernierdji@videotron.ca
Website: joaquindiaz.com