Fulanito

Fulanito
Fulanito En La Puerta Grande
Background information
Also known as	"El Hombre Mas Famoso De La Tierra"
Origin	United States
Genres	Merengue, Hip hop, Dance, Latin
Years active	1996-present
Labels	Cutting Records (1997-2007) Verdugo Entertainment (2008-Present)
Associated acts	740 Boyz 2 in a Room
Members	Winston Rosa (Founder) Rafael Vargas (Founder)
Past members	Jose "Pickles" Fuentes (1997-2007) Elvin Ovalles (1997-2002) Marino Paredes (1997-2002) Wellington Belen (1999-2000) Jesus Martinez (2003-2006) Daniel Fernandez (2003-2005)

Fulanito is a Dominican-American musical group that combines traditional merengue with other styles (specifically house, hip hop, and bachata among other genres). With over 5 million albums sold throughout the world, they were at one time the top selling act in Colombia, and were placed on other charts including those of Japan, Switzerland, United States, and Chile. Their name means "so-and-so" (i.e. unknown) in Spanish (see + ). Members of Fulanito were formerly with popular groups such as 740 Boyz and 2 in a Room.

Fulanito was formed in 1996 by lead singer / producer Rafael 'Dose' Vargas and producer Winston 'Win' Rosa with the idea of exploiting their blended talents into the Latin market. Vargas grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan, New York, and Winston grew up in the South Bronx. They met in 1992 during a studio session where Winston was working as a recording engineer on one of Rafael’s earlier projects. Their first album, “El Hombre Mas Famoso De La Tierra” gained international fame with the hit singles “Guallando”, “El Cepillo” and “La Novela,. The album sold over 500,000 units worldwide. They further gained international notoriety with their second album, “El Padrino” which garnered them their first Grammy nomination. Their third album, “Americanizao” (2001) would be the last production both Vargas and Rosa would work on together.

Fulanito’s influences trace back to the early days of Tropical Latin music in New York. “Growing up in New York City during the late 70’s,and 80’s, our generation has been influenced by the sounds of classic dance music and Hip-hop, all while the classic tropical sounds waved through our ears” states Vargas. From their Latin roots, Vargas and Rosa were driven by the likes of Hector Lavoe, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Johnny Ventura, and Fernandito Villalona. Their more youthful roots go as far back as Run DMC, T La Rock, and LL Cool J, among others.