Johnny Tulanga, the professional name of Juan de la Cruz Báez García, is a Dominican bassist, composer and arranger from La Romana. He was an early member of Los Hijos del Rey and played on important merengue recordings of the 1980s. His work is also documented on recordings by Orquesta Liberación and in songs he wrote or arranged for other orchestras.

From La Romana to Santo Domingo

As a young musician, he worked in La Romana and San Pedro de Macorís. He taught himself guitar with books provided by friends before making the bass his main instrument. He played with «Los Z-C», «Grupo Oriental» and «El Rubí Combo», and studied solfège and sight-reading. He moved to Santo Domingo in the mid-1970s, played in Thomás Vásquez's group and enrolled at the National Conservatory of Music.

An early orchestra and studio work

When Wilfrido Vargas was assembling Los Hijos del Rey, Tulanga was recommended as a bassist. He joined the orchestra in its early period, alongside performers including Fernando Villalona, Bonny Cepeda and Raulín Rosendo. He made his first professional recordings with the group. He later worked regularly in sessions for «Karen Records», Bienvenido Rodríguez's label.

The printed credits of Orquesta Liberación's «Cómo Quisiera» (1983) list Johnny Báez on bass. Tulanga also played in Ramón Orlando's orchestra; a report by Fausto Polanco places his departure in late 1986. Those years brought together his work as an orchestra member and a recording musician.

Compositions and arrangements

Tulanga wrote «Vagabundo», «Estrella de Plata» and «Te necesito», songs known in the merengue repertoire of the 1980s. His composition «La Ola» appeared on «Construyendo una idea» (1985) by «Juan Luis y su Orquesta». He is also credited with «Lejos de ti», recorded by Monchy Capricho. As an arranger, he worked on Henry Castro's «Eres» and «La Chinita», and on Aramis Camilo's «Se va la vida», «Lo mejor de tu vida», «Caballito frenao» and «Muero contigo». Press reporting also documents his arrangement of «Cuentos de terror», performed by Jorge Solano.

Legacy

The La Romana municipal government honored Tulanga for his musical career in November 2020. Some records credited him as Johnny Báez, while songs and arrangements he created remained in the merengue repertoire. Documenting those credits makes visible a bassist who anchored well-known recordings and also wrote and arranged music for other performers.