[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H4254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING JOHNNY VENTURA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Espaillat) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Madam Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to 
honor the life and work of the most prominent merengue artist in the 
world who, sadly, passed away yesterday, the great Johnny Ventura.
  Johnny Ventura started his career in the 1960s with his Johnny 
Ventura El Combo Show. His career quickly flourished both nationally 
and internationally with his contagious music.
  He also embarked on a life of public service as the mayor in Santo 
Domingo and a member of the Congress of the Dominican Republic.
  Just last February, we honored him here in Washington, D.C., as part 
of the yearly event, Dominicans on the Hill.
  He prided himself in being the ambassador of merengue and, as such, 
of the Caribbean and the world.
  We will always remember him for his contagious songs, including ``I 
am the Merengue,'' ``If I am born again,'' ``Tobacco,'' and ``Patacon 
Pisao''; ``Yo soy el Merengue,'' ``Si vuelvo a nacer,'' ``El tabaco,'' 
y ``Patacon Pisao.''
  (English translation of the lyrics spoken in Spanish is as follows:)

     The sound of the bass drum stops today
     The sound of the saxophone rests
     The guira also rests today.
     El sonido de la tambora para hoy
     El sonido del saxofon descansa
     La guira tambien descansa hoy.

  We will always remember him for his great service to people, and for 
his music and dedication to music. He will always be present in our 
hearts through his songs that often were funny and sometimes 
melancholic as he sang to the diaspora.
  Madam Speaker, as you know, folks from all over the world find 
themselves in an economic exile and, at times, think of the family they 
left behind. They think of the wonderful beaches, rivers, and mountains 
that they left behind, and they could only claim that feeling through 
songs like the songs that Johnny Ventura often played for all of us.
  He had a contagious smile and a wonderful rhythm of music with 
African bass instruments.
  Adios, Johnny Ventura.
  Good-bye, ``Merengue Artist to the Bass Drum''; adios, ``Merenguero 
Hasta la Tambora.''
  Good-bye, ``Oldest Horse''; adios, ``Caballo Mayor.''

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