Eddy Rafael is a Dominican merengue singer. He sang with El Equipo in the 1980s, shared billing with Dioni Fernández and the orchestra on a 1994 tribute album, and later worked as a backing vocalist for Toño Rosario. He continued performing and recording in the 2020s.

The El Equipo record

His firmest early document is an album: «Homenaje a Julito Deschamps» (1994, Kubaney), a ten-track tribute to the Dominican bolero singer, billed to «Dioni Fernández y El Equipo, Eddy Rafael» — a main-artist credit alongside the maestro's orchestra, with songs like «Te necesito», «Poquita fe», «Súplica» and «Como duele una traición». A 2007 Acroarte announcement identified him among former members of El Equipo who had sung the orchestra's hits in the 1980s. His shared 1994 album billing with Dioni Fernández confirms their later recording partnership. Television host Gerald Ogando, who bills him «El Merenguero Perfecto», credits Fernández with giving him an early opportunity and points to his rendition of «Volviéndome tú» from that era.

The chorus years

Chorus work is merengue's anonymous labour, and Eddy Rafael did it at the highest level. A personnel listing for Toño Rosario's December 2001 show at Jet Set names «Eddy Rafael» among the backing vocalists, and a later history of «Kulikitaka» — the rhythmic accident that became Toño's signature novelty hit — places his voice in the chorus of the song's 2001 television performance. In 2023 he surfaced again on a big stage, listed among the guest voices of Wilfrido Vargas's orchestra at the Merengazo festival in Jarabacoa.

Still singing

His own-name album «Justo a Tiempo» reached streaming in 2020 with nine tracks, among them «Se volvió loco por ella» and «Mañana en tu olvido». The veteran circuit keeps him busy: in 2020 he shared the «Los años dorados del merengue» bill in San Cristóbal with Fénix Ortiz, Henry García and Diómedes Núñez; in 2025 he was a featured voice on Charlie Núñez's all-star hymn «Vivir para siempre», alongside Los Hermanos Rosario, Ramón Orlando and Sergio Vargas, and recorded a Félix del Rosario medley with Junior Cabrera and Henry Jiménez. Fans greeting his recent performances name «No te vayas ahora» as his classic.

Legacy

Eddy Rafael was credited alongside Dioni Fernández on a 1994 tribute album, later sang backing vocals for Toño Rosario and appeared in other collaborative merengue recordings. His documented collaborations span more than three decades.