This is the first Dominican merengue song that I post to my channel, and you won’t be able to keep still when it starts playing! “El Hombre Divertido” (“The Joyful Man”) is one of the biggest hits of Dominican bandleader Wilfrido Vargas, nicknamed “El Rey Del Merengue” (“The King Of Merengue”). This man and his band made truly awesome music for dancing, and this is a great example. “El Hombre Divertido” was originally released in 1983 as part of the album “El Funcionario” (“The Officer”), but here it’s taken from a greatest hits LP released two years later (although it was recorded first). This recording bears a couple differences with the one that was first released: While the instrumental track is exactly the same for both, the mix is different and the first half of lead vocals were recorded by different singers (Sandy Reyes in this version and Jorge Gómez in the other one). You can hear the version sung by Jorge Gómez here:

Original Colombian pressing.

Numark TTXUSB turntable – Nagaoka MP-500 phono cartridge – ART DJPRE II phono stage preamp – Vinyl record vinilo LP