By Nelson Santana and Emmanuel Espinal
August 3, 2025
Leer en español: 15 artistas dominicanos del Top 25 de ESENDOM que debes conocer: Zacarías Ferreira
From Santiago’s mountain tops to the corners of The Bronx, Dominican music has produced artists that have marked generations, challenged genres, and conquered global stages. At ESENDOM, we celebrate the cultural power of our music with a special list: “15 Dominican Artists from ESENDOM’s Top 25 That You Should Know”—a selection curated with both heart and musical insight, where each name represents not only talent, but history, identity, and legacy.
Our list is based on ESENDOM’s Top 25, a list we publish weekly featuring the hottest songs in the music scene.
Over the coming days, we will reveal one by one the names that make up this list, with in-depth profiles that honor their trajectory, impact, and cultural relevance. This is not a ranking; it is a living tribute.
We continue this musical journey with Zacarías Ferreira, “The Voice of Tenderness.” A bachata legend known for timeless hits like “Me liberé,” “Siento que te quiero,” “El triste,” “Me sobran las palabras,” and “Me quedo” (with Romeo Santos), among countless others. His most recent song to enter the Top 25 of ESENDOM is “El amor tuvo la culpa.”
🎤 Today we present the third of our fifteen: Zacarías Ferreira: The Architect of Tenderness Who Turned Bachata into a Temple of Emotions.
In the fertile lands of Tamboril, nestled in the heart of the Cibao region—where the wind carries ancestral melodies and every sunset whispers tales of love—a boy was born on October 10, 1968, destined to become the most tender voice in modern bachata. Zacarías Ferreira de la Cruz did not merely inherit a musical gift from his family lineage—he embraced a sacred calling: to transform sorrow into caress, and nostalgia into hope.
In a home where music flowed as naturally as morning coffee, Zacarías found his first confidant in a guitar at just nine years old. His path led him to the Escuela de Bellas Artes de Santiago (School of Fine Arts in Santiago) and later to the Conservatorio Nacional de Música en Santo Domingo (National Conservatory of Music in Santo Domingo)—not for luxury, but out of necessity. The art within him demanded precision, structure, and discipline to match the emotional depths that already stirred in his young soul.
By day, he honed his craft in classrooms; by night, he sang with bachata groups—not merely to make ends meet, but to forge the steel of an artist. Every stage became a classroom, every song a test of spirit. Through these performances, he sculpted the resilience and authenticity that would soon define him.
When Me Liberé arrived in 1997, it was more than a debut album—it was an act of emancipation. A declaration of artistic independence that earned him the prestigious Premio Casandra, and signaled to the world that a new voice had joined the celestial canon of bachata. This inaugural release laid the first stone in what would become a towering musical legacy.
What followed was a series of albums that charted his artistic evolution: El Triste (2000), Adiós (2001), Novia Mía (2002), and El Amor Vencerá (2004). Each one offered a new emotional chapter, exploring the boundless shades of human love with a tenderness that became his signature.
His moment of international consecration came in 2001 at the Festival Presidente, where he stood as the sole bachatero of the lineup—and only the second ever to perform there, following Raulín Rodríguez in 1999. On that stage, Zacarías proved that bachata could transcend borders, genres, and expectations. His now-legendary U.S. tour—77 concerts in just 48 days, including unforgettable nights in New York—confirmed that Dominican artistry could command the world’s attention.
Zacarías’ genius lies in his delicate balance of tradition and innovation. While holding true to the soul of bachata, he infused it with modern arrangements, allowing his music to speak across generations. His lyrics, delicately woven with love, longing, and warmth, act as emotional bridges—binding together hearts of all ages and cultures.
With over two decades of uninterrupted artistry and albums like Contigo (2021) reaffirming his enduring relevance, Zacarías Ferreira has proven that true musical greatness is not a trend—it’s a timeless presence. His many Premios Casandra and Soberano Awards are not just honors; they are monuments to a career shaped by integrity, craft, and devotion to feeling.
“The Voice of Tenderness” is more than a nickname—it is a truth. Zacarías turned bachata into a sanctuary, a place where wounded souls find comfort, and solitary hearts rediscover companionship.
[Tomorrow… another name you won’t want to miss.]
Follow our series and join us in discovering, rediscovering, and celebrating the very best of our own.
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15 artistas dominicanos del Top 25 de ESENDOM que debes conocer