Bienvenido Fabián (San Pedro de Macorís, 20 March 1920 – Santo Domingo, 23 November 2000) was a Dominican composer, pianist, singer and radio announcer. In the 1950s his songs reached Celia Cruz and «La Sonora Matancera» in Havana, and his «Condena», also titled «Qué será de mí», is one of the songs on the recording counted as the beginning of bachata’s discography.

Merengue at the piano

As a player he made his name in the 1950s with two piano pieces, «Merengue en concierto» and «Ritmo de merengue», recordings noted for his fingerwork on the keyboard. He also played the guitar, worked as a radio announcer and led a group of his own, credited on record as «Bienvenido Fabián y su Combo» and «Bienvenido Fabián y su Conjunto», with which he recorded numbers such as «Chanflín».

«La Sonora Matancera»

The Cuban band recorded his «Goza negra» with Celia Cruz as lead voice in the mid-1950s, and Cruz also sang his «Tuya más que tuya», a bolero cha-cha-chá. Decades later Michel el Buenón recorded the song again, as «Tuyo más que tuyo».

Dominican voices

At home, the singer who recorded the most of his songs was Elenita Santos: «Besarte», «Mi estrella», «Quién si no tú», «Al fin te fuiste». An LP issued under her name, «Piensa en mí», credits Fabián alongside «Ángel Bussi y su Conjunto». His catalogue also includes the boleros «Mi noche fatal», «Di que no», «Lo que te pido» and «De qué color son tus ojos», and Isidoro Flores and his conjunto drew on his compositions for the album «La Sabrosona».

«Condena»

When José Manuel Calderón went into the studio for the sides now counted as the first recorded bachatas, one of the songs was Fabián’s «Condena», which also circulates as «Qué será de mí»; in 2017 Calderón named Fabián as its author. According to the broadcaster Alci de la Rosa, Fabián accompanied Calderón at the piano on several of his hits. The song was later taken up by Los Ahijados, the duo of Cuco Valoy and Martín Valoy.

Legacy

Fabián died in Santo Domingo on 23 November 2000, at the age of 80. His work runs through three currents of Dominican popular music at mid-century — the concert merengue for piano, the bolero taken up by Cuba’s best-known sonora, and the song at the start of recorded bachata.