New York.– The New Jersey Cuban parade will honor the King of Merengue Joseito Mateo with a star at the Celia Cruz Park on 31st Street and Bergenline Avenue, on June 1.   

The 86-year-old composer, singer, and arranger, who has had a dominant presence in the Latino music community for over 60 years, is recognized as the most influential and legendary figure in the history of merengue music.  

In the 1950s, Mateo established himself in the ethnic music community with the hit song “El Negrito del Batey.” He went on to become the leading voice of Cuba’s landmark big band La Sonora Matancera and Puerto Rico’s el Gran Combo. 

Along with his solid following in Latin America, he also established an audience in the United States becoming the first Dominican to perform at Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall, and Radio City. 

The work of Jose Tamarez Mateo has filled so vast and deep spaces in the Dominican culture that it is impossible to speak of the Dominicanidad without mentioning him. 

Union City and the surrounding towns across the Hudson River from New York City have the largest concentration of Cubans outside of Miami, and they have become a magnet for immigrants from other Latin American countries like Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador and Nicaragua.