Aventura is a Dominican bachata/rnb music group from New York City. They became popular worldwide with their hit single Obsesión in 2002-2003. The group is composed of four young Dominican musicians. Other notable supporting musicians include Judy Santos (whose vocals are featured in the song Obsesión) and Tobey. Other hits like “Mi Corazoncito” and “Un Beso” allowed the group to further make a mark on their genre. In 2009, they released their new album titled “The Last”. Aventura is one of the most unique artists on the scene today. After well over a decade of sparring in the music business, these four young, dynamic guys with a seldom-seen chemistry continue to auto-produce soulful, original music that gleams with excellence. Their nouveau sound fuses bachata (a guitar-based Dominican folkloric music sometimes called the “Dominican blues”) with R & B, hip hop and other American pop and urban styles. Lead singer and songwriter Anthony “Romeo” Santos’ original songs are often deep, dealing with social issues. Even when they tackle timeless themes, such as romance and heartbreak, Romeo’s approach always comes from a different angle. Because the Santos boys are so young, it seems incredible that they struggled for eight years before exploding on the scene in the summer of 2002. Bachata’s conservative base was not accepting of their signature sound; for years the traditional audience either “booed” them off the stage or refused to acknowledge them. After all, on a scene dominated by traditionalist stars such as Anthony “El Mayimbe” Santos and rising romantic minstrels such as Zacarías Ferreira, Aventura’s music was truly radical. However, in summer of 2002, the song “Obsesion” hit the airwaves and “Aventura-mania” was born. Loyal fans from the group’s Bronx neighborhood ran with the innovative sounds of their local band, and the fanaticism soon spread across the tri-state area, into the Northeast and across the country. If Aventura fever in the US and Latin America is a phenomena, the band’s impact in Europe has been utterly astounding. For 16 straight weeks the single “Obsesion” charted number 1 in Italy; the album We Broke The Rules topped the charts for months as well. From there Aventura charted number one in Spain, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Greece, Slovenia, Romania among others. In France, 20 days after release 400,000 singles had been distributed with 139,000 CDs. In Germany, “Obsesion” by Aventura held the number one spot with more than 200,000 CDs sold, while a cover version of “Obsesion” by German pop group Third Wish, held the number two position. The song spread through Poland, Russia, Slovakia and Israel, to name a few. “Obsesion” had penetrated the mainstream European market to the point that the “Smurfs” in Germany and Spain have created a parody of the song for inclusion in a future “Smurfs” record release.