Aventura is the group that remains on its own island, somewhere outside off traditional pop boy bands that have been pervasive throughout American bubble gum culture and disdained by traditional Bachata groups and fans. The group instead sells Aventura tickets to a particular microcosm, the sons and daughters of Dominican Republican immigrants that have grown up in households that listened to classical Bachata groups. This has put the four band members from the Bronx in a genre of their own, floating in the ether between popular American music and the ever-changing landscape of Latin American genres as they blend in with the melting pot of music as the children of immigrants become more and more Americanized.
Aventura consists of Anthony "Romeo" Santos, Henry Santos Jeter, Lenny Santos, and Max Santos. Anthony is the primary songwriter and lead singer, his cousin Henry is a singer and composer as well, Lenny (of no relation to Anthony and Henry) is the guitarist and producer, and Max (Lenny's brother) plays bass.
The group grew up in the Bronx. Anthony, Lenny, and Max were born and raised in the New York borough and Henry moved to the neighborhood from the Dominican Republic at the age of 14. All four grew up listening to Bachata music. Bachata is the Latin music genre specific to the Dominican Republic countryside. It is noted for its tragic tales of love and life. Aventura started when brothers Lenny and Max went in search of a singer for the newly conceptualized group in 1999. It just happened that found another Santos in Anthony. He recruited his cousin and the quartet was complete.
The band created a new genre from their traditional roots. They added a little bit of extravagance to the bittersweet ballads, turning off many of the traditional Bachata audience in the neighborhood. They also rejected any attempt to pop-ify them like the Backstreet Boys and N'Sync. As a result their first album, Generation Next, received little if any promotion from the RCA International music label. The group began to win over some audiences and earn some acclaim after their single Cuando Volveras peaked at number two on several Latin music Billboard charts. Suddenly Aventura had a shot after it appeared they would just fade away.
With tracks in English and Spanish the group found a place on Latin music stations searching for the younger demographic, the children of Latin American immigrants. Aventura's follow up album, We Broke the Rules (2002), did much better with a new label, Premium Latin Music. The single Obsesion topped the Latin charts and the U.S. Hot 100. Aventura became a shining example of the increased influence their musical heritage was having on the popular music world.
