Vicente Mercedes — Vicente Mercedes Payano, born in Arroyo Barril, Samaná, on 5 June 1983 — is a Dominican worship singer, composer and author.

Samaná

He grew up in Arroyo Barril, a small place on the bay in the far north-east, and taught in a children’s Bible school there. He began singing and writing songs at sixteen.

Samaná is one of the most musically distinct corners of the country, and one of the least represented in the Dominican record industry. Almost everyone who works in music leaves it.

Exaltando Al Creador

He moved to Santo Domingo in 2002 and started a praise and worship ministry called Exaltando Al Creador, built around adolescents and children rather than trained singers.

The group ended up as the worship team of his own congregation, and it toured to sing in churches around the country. That is how most Dominican Christian music actually works: not through labels and radio, but through a local team that becomes good enough to be invited elsewhere.

He has kept supporting the ministry while releasing under his own name.

The songs

Vuelve a Brillar came out as an EP in 2004. El Dios Que Yo Le Sirvo, No Es En Mi Tiempo, Llena Mi Vida, Cristo Llegó a Mi Vida and a live Me Han Tirado Fuerte make up the rest of the catalogue, and the 2016 concert Somos Su Pueblo was recorded.

He also writes for children, and his book Pequeños Héroes de la Biblia belongs to the same work as the Bible school he taught in at the start.