Transporte Urbano was founded by the Dominican composer Luis Días, in 1982, after he returned from a temporary stay in New York City. Días, a pioneer of Dominican urban folk music and one of the founders of the folk groupConvite, wanted to create Dominican music with a new vision of what it could be. This arose from his contact with punk and other rock expressions while living in New York City in the early 1980s and led to the birth of Transporte Urbano. Días chose a few young, Santo Domingo-based musicians for this project: Juan Francisco Ordóñez on electric guitar, Guy Frómeta on drums, Héctor Santana on bass, Bruno Ranson on sax and percussionist José Duluc. Eventually the group settled into a guitar/bass/drums power trio format fronted by Días. In 1983, the band made their debut at the Altos de Chavón amphitheatre, opening for jazz musicianBob James, and in April of the same year for the British band English Beat, at the same venue. Transporte Urbano's performance at "Varadero 87", a music festival celebrated in Cuba, became infamous when their appearance and music were considered "unsuitable" by certain Cuban cultural authorities, who were expecting a merengue or more traditional sounding group. The members of the band were "invited" to leave the countrythe day after the show. However, the young Cuban press supported the performance of the band, as well as noted Cuban singer/songwriter Pablo Milanés. Transporte Urbano remained active on the Dominican musical scene until 2004, when they performed a show for the Dominican culture ministry, at a tribute to Días. Luis Dias died 5 years later in Santo Domingo, on 8 December 2009, at 57 years of age from a heart attack and kidney and liver complications.
Relevance
Transporte Urbano was the first band to make authentic Dominican rock. Although there were earlier rock groups on the island, this was the first time a Dominican rock band had a clear mark of originality. They are considered highly influential and Dias' being regarded "the father of Dominican rock" stems directly from his work with Transporte Urbano. Along with the distinct social commentary content of Días' songs, the band mixed in the universal sounds of rock and jazz and referenced authentic Dominican rhythms, generating a new musical style. Always a phenomenal live act, the trio's noted virtuosity was an ideal backdrop for Días' showmanship. Transporte Urbano performed songs written by Luis Dias exclusively.
