Mickey Taveras —full name Miguel Vinicio Almánzar Taveras, born in Santo Domingo on 29 September 1970, to Raúl Almánzar and Modesta Taveras, a family of Ecuadorian descent— is a Dominican singer of salsa romántica, merengue and bachata, launched to international fame in the orchestra of Wilfrido Vargas before a long solo career built on romantic ballads.

From «Los Pícaros de Moca» to Wilfrido Vargas’s orchestra

He trained at the Escuela de Bellas Artes y Cultos, learning guitar, piano, harmony and solfège, skills that later let him write his own arrangements and songs. At twelve he formed the rock group «Los Pícaros de Moca», two years later the group «Variedades Musicales», and afterward joined an ensemble playing jazz and English-language ballads. Wilfrido Vargas then launched him to international fame within his own orchestra, where Taveras worked as both singer and music producer, before leaving after five years to pursue his own projects and to compose for other artists.

«Lucharé» and Viña del Mar

His debut solo album, «Lucharé» (September 1995), included the hits «Quiéreme», «A Pesar del Tiempo», «Y Qué Me Pasa» and the title track, selling more than 500,000 copies in Colombia and earning him the award for best performer at Chile’s Viña del Mar Festival in 1996.

Further albums

«Más Romántico» (1999), led by «Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos», brought him a Premios Lo Nuestro nomination; a bachata album, «Sigo Siendo Romántico: Grandes Éxitos de la Bachata» (2003), sold more modestly but earned a Latin Grammy nomination. «Te Esperaré» (2006) and «Pasado y Presente» (2013) followed, the latter revisiting his 1996–2002 salsa hits in pop, rock and ballad arrangements and including a cover of «Me Enloqueces», a hit for the Colombian singer Charlie Zaá. A 2016 single, «Hoy Ya Me Voy», featured a guest appearance by José Aguirre.

Legacy

Now based in Miami, Taveras has named among his own influences singers as varied as Ismael Rivera, Félix del Rosario, Cuco Valoy and Ramón Orlando, a range that mirrors the breadth of his own catalogue across salsa, merengue and bachata.