By Emmanuel Espinal
August 6, 2025
Lea en español: Aris Jackson: Biografía de un Showman
José Arismendy Rocha Ortega, better known as Aris Jackson, is a Dominican singer, dancer and showman who has left his mark on both orchestral merengue and merengue típico. Born on August 23, 1980, in Santo Domingo, his biography traces a path from school choreography and Michael Jackson–inspired performances to stages with Wilfrido Vargas, Jossie Esteban, El Prodigio and, eventually, the NYC Típico movement. This Aris Jackson biography follows how a restless kid obsessed with dance became one of the most charismatic frontmen in Dominican music.
Pablo introduced him to Cholo Brenes, who was his manager and producer at the time. Cholo’s first reaction was one where he saw Aris’s talent but believed he didn’t have the physical requirements for the artistic medium, as he was a thin young man. Pablo was determined to give Aris an opportunity. He convinced Cholo Brenes to give him a three-month deadline for Aris to build up his muscle mass. When the three-month deadline was met, Aris had achieved the goal through much effort. In 1998, he managed to become part of Pablo Martínez’s front line, where he began his artistic experience.
After approximately one year, Aris became part of El Reto, a mambo merengue group where he started as a backup singer in 1999. Seeing Aris’s talents and development, the group’s owner gave him leadership of the group. Thus, Aris took the reins of the group El Reto. In the group’s second production, titled “Pa’ que lo Baile,” Aris went from being a backup singer to lead vocalist, singing five of the ten tracks. In addition to being the lead voice, he also composed two of the tracks in the production, one of them titled “Un Par de Horas Escondidos” (A Couple of Hidden Hours). El Reto lasted two years, as it had to disband due to investor issues.
Following the group’s dissolution, Aris continued his development as an artist by joining different groups. He did a brief tour of Colombia with Rikarena. Upon his return, he joined Wilfrido Vargas’s orchestra where he shared the stage with Joselito, who also transitioned from orchestral merengue to singing merengue típico. His stay with Wilfrido lasted nine months, where he had the opportunity to be part of a music video with Alina Vargas titled “Que se mueran los feos” (Let the Ugly Ones Die).
“With an R, with an E, with a T and with an O... El Reto”
FROM ORCHESTRAl MERENGUE TO MERENGUE TÍPICO
From being with one of the great merengue artists of the eighties, Wilfrido Vargas, Aris became part of Jossie Esteban’s group, another great from that golden era. During the two years he was with Jossie Esteban, his dancing skills came to light since Jossie Esteban has always had a high standard in dancing requirements for his singers. Aris again became the dance choreographer with his own style, like in his school years. Kinito Méndez, looking for a “showman,” hired him and he became part of the “Hony tu si Hony” video. By this time, Aris was already capturing the attention of many in the Dominican artistic world.
At a party at Andy Ranch in Santiago, where he participated with Kinito, Nicol Peña and Alex Castro enjoyed Aris’s performance on stage. Alex Castro told Nicol Peña that he was the one they were looking for and needed for the front of the Mambo Millonario group. While Aris was coming down from the stage, Alex took the opportunity, introduced himself, and made the offer he and Nicol had discussed. After eight months with Kinito Méndez, Aris moved to Santiago from the capital, thus beginning his career in merengue típico. Nicol Peña gave him the opportunity to stand out as a singer. His first opportunity came when he was allowed to do a cover of Marco Antonio Solís’s “Si no te hubieras ido” (If You Hadn’t Left) and then a cover of “Hotel California” by the American rock group the Eagles.
FROM MEGA STAR TO EL PRODIGIO
In Santiago, Aris was able to see the differences between orchestral merengue and merengue típico, especially how lucrative típico is. Instead of playing once every two weeks, as he was accustomed to in orchestral merengue, in típico he found himself singing six days a week. He was also amazed at how merengue típico followers were more passionate, to the point of knowing artists by name and personally hangout with them. That warmth from the audience made him fall in love with the genre. After two years with Nicol Peña, Aris joined Krenzy García’s group, better known as El Prodigio, as a result of an initiative by Baby Drums and Israel Conga, the latter being Aris’s companion with Nicol.
Israel had moved from Nicol Peña to El Prodigio, and in a presentation where both groups shared the stage, Baby Drums was dazzled by Aris’s artistic stage work. After some time, El Prodigio’s front position became vacant, and Baby Drums convinced Israel to talk to Krenzy García to see if they could hire him. Thus, Aris entered with Alex Castro to be part of the front alongside the late Velásquez in the El Prodigio group.
With Castro’s departure came a change to the group’s front lineup, Amaurys Colón and Juan Cruz joined group as singers and chorus. Aris had control of the choreography for this front and learned exponentially about chorus vocals with Amaurys, the second most recognized Dominican chorus voice after Henry García in merengue. During this stage, they managed to create the most iconic chorus vocals that El Prodigio has had. It was also around 2010 that the idea of what would become El Grupo D’ Ahora was conceived, which didn’t have a name at that time, as they would dream out loud in the group’s transport bus during their interactions while waiting to perform.
After several years with El Prodigio, his time with the group ended. Aris decided to seek a new horizon and found it in one full of skyscrapers in New York, alongside Polo Rodríguez “El Patrón” and his group Renova “El Poder.”
FROM PRODIGIOUS BACKUP SINGER TO RENEWED ARTIST IN NY
On September 27, 2016, Aris arrived in New York to be part of the movement called “NYC Típico.” NYC Típico is the movement of young Dominicans or those of Dominican descent in New York within típico music. That Friday, September 30, he made his debut at Mamajuana Café in Queens with Renova, signifying a new beginning with the opportunity to be a prime voice in having his own songs in this new group. The difference in Renova’s chorus vocals was immediately noticeable, but what marked a before and after was the premiere of the song “Te Vi” (I Saw You) on January 9, 2017, the song with which he began to leave his mark on “NYC Típico.”
WITH EL GRUPO D’ AHORA THE DREAM COMES TRUE
Júnior «El Güirú», Randy Collado, Aris Jackson y Baby Drums - are El Grupo D’ Ahora
On August 25, 2017, alongside Baby Drums and Júnior “El Güirú,” the dream they had talked about so much in the bus when they were with El Prodigio became reality. El Grupo D’ Ahora debuted to a packed house at Mamajuana Café in Queens. In the second week of September 2017, they released their first promotional cut in Aris’s voice titled “Quiéreme” (Love Me); a Luís Enrique song popularized by Johnny Sky in bachata version. After a year of being exactly the definition of their name, El Grupo D’ Ahora established themselves as one of the leaders in New York City. In 2018, they included in their repertoire the song he popularized with Nicol Peña, “Si no te hubieras ido.” Seeking to expand their repertoire and demonstrate their growth, on January 23, 2019, they released their first video and original song “Sin Respirar” (Without Breathing), for which Aris not only sang but was also the choreographer and artistic mind behind the video. “Sin Respirar” became a hit throughout 2019. 2020 began with the group among the best in New York City’s popular taste until March, when the city and the world shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, paralyzing the party scene. It would be months before things slowly and cautiously reopened due to the distrust that still existed regarding the virus.
In 2021, a few days before the group’s 4th anniversary, on August 16, they released their first album titled GDA (Grupo D’ Ahora) with seven original songs. For the album, Aris recorded the song “Estar contigo” (Being with You) by composer Daniel M. Acevedo with arrangements by Rodolfo de la Rosa. Management didn’t promote the cut, only the initial album promotion, causing it not to catch on. But 2022 would bring its charm when the #ArisJacksonChallenge went viral on TikTok and Instagram, thus catapulting his dance skills to international places like Argentina and other countries. Since May, his image stopped appearing in El Grupo D’ Ahora's promotions, raising suspicions of his departure from the group.
LEAVING EL GRUPO D’ AHORA IN THE PAST TO BECOME ARIS JACKSON TÍPICO KING
Everything has its end, and with each end comes a new beginning. Leaving El Grupo D’ Ahora in the past, Aris achieved his opportunity with his own project called Aris Jackson Típico King. Two days before his debut, on July 29, 2022, he premiered with a music video and everything, a collaboration with Musicólogo “El Libro” in a cover of “Mesero” (Waiter), which is a song by urban singer-songwriter Chris Lebrón. The debut was Sunday, July 31, 2022, at Bonfire Mofongo House located in Paterson, New Jersey. With this began a new stage for Aris Jackson as a leader. Enjoying the success of a dream come true with Punto Music, Aris looked to continue working to remain in the popular taste of NYC Típico through his talent as the showman he is.
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