El General

El General (born Edgardo A. Franco) is a Hispanic Panamanian musical artist considered by some to be the Father of Reggaeton. During the early 1990s, he initiated the breakthrough of Spanish Reggae to the international and somewhat mainstream market with two songs, “Te Ves Buena” and “Tu Pum Pum.” Both songs, performed in Spanish rap, were very successful in North America. After getting his foot in the door of the commercial market, many other Spanish rappers became famous in the mainstream as well, such as Vico C and DJ Negro. [Santos, Mayra. 1996. "Puerto Rican Underground." Centro 8, no. 1 & 2: 219-231. ] He has a unique, easy to listen to style of dance music and has produced many well known songs all over Latin America. His musical works have become popular in Latin America over the last few years. This style is called Spanish Reggae, because he makes reggae music with Spanish lyrics.

El General began singing and composing songs at the age of 12 in Rio Abajo, his home. After getting a scholarship, the young artist moved to the U.S. to study business administration, soon becoming a professional accountant. He started his career when he was 19 years old, and during 17 years, his albums achieved gold status 32 times and platinum 17 times, and several other awards. El General's type of music from Panama was something much different from the reggae of Jamaica. The popular music in Panama was called petroleo. [Marshall, Wayne. 2008. "Música Negra to Reggaeton Latino:The Cultural Politics of Nation, Migration, and Commercialization." 10 ]

Songs like "Muevelo" (1991), "Tu Pum Pum" (1988), "Rica y Apretadita", and "Te Ves Buena" are among his greatest hits. In 1992, El General received the an MTV award for best Latin video with the great success of "Muevelo". [ [http://www.reggaetonfever.com/el_general.php EL GENERAL BIOGRAPHY - Reggaeton Fever ] ]

In 2004, he announced his retirement from the stages after an incident with the government of Panama because of the cancellation of his diplomatic passport. He alleged he was retiring to dedicate to his career as a producer and entrepreneur.

He is currently dedicated to his foundation "Niños Pobres Sin Fronteras" (Poor Children Without Borders) in Panama City hosting a program of his own called "Sal, Azúcar, Miel y Canela" (Salt, Sugar, Honey and Cinnamon) at Radio Kids.

Discography

*"La Ficha Clave" (2004)
*"To' Rap-Eao" (2003)
*"El General The Hits" (2003)
*"Move it Up" (2003)
*"General De Fiesta"" (2002)
*"IS BACK" (2001)
*"Back to the Original" (2001)
*"Serie 2000: El General" (2000)
*"Colección Original: El General" (1998)
*"Grandes Exitos" (1998)
*"Rapa Pan Pan" (1997)
*"Clubb 555" (1995)
*"Es Mundial" (1995)
*"El Poder de El General" (1992)
*"Muevelo Con El General"(1991)
*"Bien Buena" (1990)
*"No Me Va a Matar" (1990)

External links

* [http://www.latin-artists.com/biography.php?id=127 About El General at latin-artists.com] Tu Pom Pom (1999999)

References

[Santos, Mayra. 1996. "Puerto Rican Underground." Centro 8, no. 1 & 2: 219-231. ] [Marshall, Wayne. 2008. "Música Negra to Reggaeton Latino:The Cultural Politics of Nation, Migration, and Commercialization." 10 ] [ [http://www.reggaetonfever.com/el_general.php EL GENERAL BIOGRAPHY - Reggaeton Fever ] ]