Al Centro de la Ciudad is the third album released by Colombian singer/composer Carlos Vives, released on June 6, 1989. Vives was better known as a star of television soap operas at the time of its release. Songs such as "Aventurera" and "Te Extrañare" on telenovelas would give Vives further mainstream exposure, as well as notable attention from the public. It is his final album to feature synthesizer-romantic ballads, and pop, predating his Clásicos de la Provincia breakthrough in the vallenato genre. Description Before Carlos Vives was the "King of Vallenato" and one of Colombia's hottest musical exports, he was a struggling young star in Latin television. With soap operas, or telenovelas, being a springboard for Latin Americans seeking fame, Vives was no exception. In his home country of Colombia, the Santa Marta-born, and Bogotá raised actor cut his teeth in a number of shows including "Pequeños Gigantes" (Little Giants - 1983) and "Tuyo es Mi Corazón (Yours is My Heart - 1985) before finding notoriety in the title role of "Gallito Ramírez (Ramírez the Rooster - 1986). That same year, he released his first album "Por Fuera y Por Dentro", marking Vives's foray into his true passion, music. Despite Vives's newfound fame as an actor to coincide with his musical aspirations, his recordings could not match fellow established crooners in the same genre. His debut and his second release "No Podrás Escapar de Mí", were lost in the shuffle in a market that included superstars such as Julio Iglesias and Juan Gabriel. Although his acting overshadowed any album recordings, Vives would continue, undaunted, with his subsequent release in the summer of 1989, a year that would see further fame and exposure in Carlos's rise to popularity. On June 6, 1989, "Al Centro de la Ciudad" (To Downtown), was released, coinciding with one of the busiest years in Vives's acting career. Along with success in two starring roles, "La Conciencia de Lucía" (The Conscience of Lucía) and "L.P. – Loca Pasión" (C.P. – Crazy Passion), Vives would find fame in Puerto Rico, meeting his second wife (and mother to his two children) actress Hermelinda Gómez. Success outside Colombia would mark the first step Vives's burgeoning music career as well. Containing nine tracks, (one of which "Me Estoy Muriendo de Amor" (I'm Dying of Love), was a re-recording from Por Fuera y Por Dentro), the album was mostly written by producer