Víctor Cabrera — known as Tunes, born on 12 April 1981 in Higüey — is a Dominican record producer, the other half of Luny Tunes alongside Francisco Saldaña, and the melodic side of a partnership that shaped the sound of commercial reggaeton.

Boston

A mutual friend introduced him to Francisco Saldaña in Massachusetts, and the two began working together right away. They both took jobs at a Harvard University dining hall, and it took close to a year to leave — they were well liked there, and it was not a decision either of them made lightly, even after Francisco Saldaña came back from a trip to Puerto Rico with an offer from DJ Nelson.

New in San Juan

Cabrera knew no one in Puerto Rico when they arrived, and at first he preferred to stay home rather than go to Nelson’s studio; on their first session, 31 December 2001, Nelson did not yet know who he was. Working alongside Noriega, Cabrera and Francisco Saldaña split the work like a musical yin and yang — Cabrera built the melodies, Francisco Saldaña drove the drums — and their first production credit, in 2002, was on the compilation «Los Matadores del Género». Cabrera is said to have agreed without objection to the duo being billed «Luny Tunes» rather than the reverse.

One song with his own voice

In 2003, after unreleased tracks by major reggaeton artists leaked on pirated discs, Tego Calderón, Wisin y Yandel and Héctor «El Bambino» blamed Nelson and the duo, and the threats that followed sent Cabrera and Francisco Saldaña back to Boston before they returned to build their own studio, in the yard of Francisco Saldaña’s mother’s house, where they produced Tego Calderón’s «El Abayarde», Héctor & Tito’s «A la reconquista» and Don Omar’s «The Last Don». On «Oh Johnny», from «Mas Flow 2» (2005), credited to Mr. Vegas and Tunes, Cabrera sang — the only record in the duo’s catalogue that carries his own voice.

Legacy

Cabrera has kept a lower profile than his partner: in November 2021, alongside Francisco Saldaña’s own announcement of a long-promised «Mas Flow 3», he opened a private Instagram account under his own name — followed, notably, by Tainy, one of the producers who came up in the label they built. What he made with Francisco Saldaña is told in full under Luny Tunes; what is his alone is the melodic ear that made half of it work, and one verse, on one song, in his own voice.