Aljadaqui is a Dominican rock band formed in Santo Domingo in 1995. It has had one constant across thirty years, a break-up and a return: Mariano Lantigua, its singer and writer.

Early years and formation

The band came out of a rock contest. They entered Phoenix96 in 1996 and took third place, named the most innovative group in it. Fuego Informal went to radio in 1997, and the single behind it, No Queda Más, put them at the top of Dominican rock radio.

Mariano and Roberto Lantigua are brothers, and started the band in their twenties. The Dominican press reports that they grew up around music through their father, a merengue pianist who carries the same name as his son.

Toma Uno and the crossover

Toma Uno arrived at the beginning of 1999 and did something a Dominican rock record was not expected to do: it crossed onto ballad and tropical stations. Mentirosa, off that album, went to number one. Si Piensas Volver, De Medio La’o, Por Ella, Ganas de Amar, Se Me Va La Vida, Ahora No Estás and No Mires Atrás belong to the run that followed.

Caribenautas came in 2004, a Grandes Éxitos in 2006, Radio del Alma in 2008 and Invencibles in 2011. The Premios Casandra named them best rock group of the year twice, in 2000 and again in 2005.

The line-up

Mariano Lantigua has sung since 1995. Roberto Lantigua played guitar and sang backing vocals until 2014; Anser Olivo played bass from 1995 to 2007; José Carlos Vargas played guitar in the first three years and Mickey Martínez from 1998 to 2006; José Vizcaíno drummed from 1997 to 2008. The band emptied out around its singer over two decades rather than all at once.

Break-up and return

They dissolved in 2013 after sixteen years, and came back in 2020 with a virtual concert. La Última Vez followed and reached further than anything since the early records.

El Que Se Enamora Pierde arrived in 2026, written and produced by Mariano Lantigua with Nico Clínico, who also mixed it. Omar Medina directed the video and Irving Deschamps handled the mastering and the Dolby Atmos. A rapper out of the Dominican urban scene co-writing a rock ballad is not the pairing the nineties would have predicted.