Julio César Pérez Cruz, known professionally as July Pie, was a Dominican merengue pianist from Loma de Cabrera, Dajabón Province. During the 1980s he worked with the orchestras of Fernando Villalona and Alex Bueno.

He joined Fernando Villalona’s orchestra as pianist in 1980. News reports associate his tenure with recordings on «La Tuerca», «Féliz Cumbé» and «El Mayimbe». Fernando Villalona later recalled that he and July Pie worked together on the piano arrangement for «Cama y mesa».

In the early 1980s, he helped form «Orquesta Liberación» with Alex Bueno. A 2024 Chamber of Deputies resolution identifies Pérez as a pianist in the group and Canon Vilomar as its conguero. Dominicanísima further credits Canon Vilomar with the opening conga solo on «Colegiala».

July Pie died in Loma de Cabrera on 5 July 2023. The town hall identified him by his full name and declared municipal mourning.

Legacy

Fernando Villalona’s first-hand account of «Cama y mesa» and the Chamber’s record of the Liberación lineup preserve specific evidence of July Pie’s work as an orchestra pianist.