Fulanito is an American musical group based in Washington Heights in New York City. The group combines traditional merengue with elements of other genres such as house, hip hop, and bachata among others. With over five million albums sold throughout the world, they were at one time the top selling act in Colombia, and were placed on other charts including those of Japan, Switzerland, United States, and Chile. Their name means "Little John Doe" (i.e. unknown) in Spanish (see Fulano + -ito). Members of Fulanito had previously been in popular groups such as 740 Boyz and 2 in a Room. Discography History Fulanito was formed in 1996 by lead singer / producer Rafael 'Dose' Vargas and producer Winston 'Win' Rosa with the idea of exploiting their blended talents into the Latin market. Vargas grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan, New York, and Winston grew up in the South Bronx. They met in 1992 during a studio session where Winston was working as a recording engineer on one of Rafael's earlier projects. Their first album, “El Hombre Mas Famoso De La Tierra” gained international fame with the hit singles “Guallando”, “El Cepillo” and “La Novela,. The album sold over 500,000 units worldwide. They further gained international notoriety with their second album, “El Padrino” which garnered them their first Grammy nomination. Their third album, “Americanizao” (2001) would be the last production both Vargas and Rosa would work on together. Influences Fulanito's influences trace back to the early days of Tropical Latin music in New York. "Growing up in New York City during the late 70’s, and 80’s, our generation has been influenced by the sounds of classic dance music and Hip-hop, all while the classic tropical sounds waved through our ears" states Vargas. From their Latin roots, Vargas and Rosa were driven by the likes of Hector Lavoe, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Johnny Ventura, and Fernandito Villalona. Their more youthful roots go as far back as Run DMC, T La Rock, and LL Cool J, among others. 2 in a Room Vargas began his quest in the music business when he first collaborated on a compilation project headed by Aldo Marin and his record label Cutting Records. The compilation was to consist of various producers bring in their very own sounds in dance music. Vargas and then partner, Roger Pauletta submitted a House/Hip-hop fused track "Do What you Wanna