Billo Frómeta (November 15, 1915 - May 5, 1988) was a Dominican orchestra c… Read Full Bio ↴Billo Frómeta (November 15, 1915 - May 5, 1988) was a Dominican orchestra conductor, arranger and composer who lived and worked most of his life in Venezuela, where he is remembered.

Luis María Frómeta Pereira was born in Pimentel, Duarte Province, Dominican Republic, on November 15, 1915. He would move with his family to San Francisco de Macorís some years later. The school he attended there had compulsory music lessons, so he learned much of his musical training there.

In 1930, at the age of 15, he founded and was the resident conductor of the Banda del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Ciudad Trujillo (Ciudad Trujillo's Fire Brigade's Band). He also founded the Orquesta Sinfónica de Santo Domingo during this time.

In 1933, he moved back to Santo Domingo. During these years, he would meet and work with some of his closest friends and associates: Freddy Coronado, Ernesto Chapuseaux and Simó Damirón, whom he already knew from school . The Conjunto Tropical and the Santo Domingo Jazz Band were formed then, as well.

Frómeta then began studying Pre-Medicine in the Universidad de Santo Domingo and had to abandon all musical activity during this time. However, he eventually dropped out on his third year to dedicate himself fully to music.

Frómeta and his orchestra arrived in Venezuela in December 1937 with his orchestra to play regularly in a dance club in a Caracas, the Roof Garden. The Santo Domingo Jazz Band did well, but the club owners didn't think the name would stick- so they had Frómeta change it to something more marketeable. Frómeta went along, which got him barred from ever returning to his native Dominican Republic as Trujillo considered the change- "Billo's Caracas Boys"- an insult. Billo, Grandes Éxitos, a compilation album of the most famous songs of the Billo's Caracas Boys, was released in 1996.

Frómeta continued to play in Venezuela until the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958. Accused of being a supporter of the regime, he was barred by the Asociación Musical del D.F y Estado Miranda from ever playing in Venezuela again.

Following this, he moved to Cuba to play with a Cuban band there.

In 1960, a special session of the National Assembly was convened in Caracas. The purpose was to lift the ban passed on Billo in 1958, which was by then considered to have been unfair. That very same year, Frómeta returned to Venezuela.

On April 27, 1988, he suffered a stroke while rehearsing with the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra for a concert-tribute in his honour that would occur the very next day: just after he finished conducting the practice run for "Un Cubano en Caracas", he collapsed on the ground as the orchestra was applauding his performance. Frómeta died the following week on May 5, 1988 in Caracas.

Juanita Bonita
Billo's Caracas Boys Lyrics

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El día que te encontré
De ti yo me enamoré
Qué dicha tan grande, Juanita
Tener tu querer

Tú me dijiste: "te quiero"
Mucho, mucho te quiero
Mi corazón de amor

Con pasión palpitó

Tú me has sabido comprender
La dicha me has dado
A todo mi ser que tanto te ha amado

Pero mañana me voy
Mañana me dejarás
Y pronto, muy pronto, Juanita
Tú me olvidaras

Juanita bonita
Juanita bonita
Juanita linda
Juanita bonita
Juanita de mi vida
Juanita bonita
Ah, ah, ah, ah-ah
Juanita bonita
Juanita bella
Juanita bonita
Tú me dijiste: "te quiero"
Juanita bonita
Juanita linda

Juanita bonita
Juanita bonita
Juanita linda
Juanita bonita
Juanita de mi vida
Juanita bonita
No, no, no, no, no
Juanita bonita
Juanita bella
Juanita bonita
Juanita linda

Juanita bonita
No, no, no, no, no

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Billo's Caracas Boys's song "Juanita Bonita" describe the love story between the singer and a woman named Juanita. The singer says that he fell in love with Juanita the day he met her and feels incredibly lucky to have her love. Juanita told him that she loves him very much and this made his heart beat with passion. The singer feels like Juanita understands him and has brought him much joy and happiness. However, he knows that he is leaving soon and fears that Juanita will forget about him.

The song is a classic Latin American love song that tells the story of a passionate romance. It expresses the singer's feelings of love and longing for Juanita and his fear of losing her. The song's lyrics are simple but powerful, expressing the depth of feeling between the two lovers.

Juanita BonitaBillo's Caracas Boys Lyrics

Juanita Bonita
Billo's Caracas Boys Lyrics