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Innovators of a bold new sound in Latin Dance, Proyecto Uno has been fusing the rhythm of Merengue the intensity of Techno, the late-night boom of House with the rapid-fire rap of Hip-Hop flow, without losing the romance of Salsa and R&B Soul. The result is a delicious hip-shaking sound that sets trends in Latin Dance culture.

Proyecto Uno’s sound is funky and flavorful filled with Dominican Yorker and Nuyorican emotion and non-stop energy. It’s the sound of New York Latinos who celebrate their native heritage while giving props to their new home.

“Our sound doesn’t need translation. It’s just rhythm and dance,” says the group’s founding member Nelson Zapata.

Proyecto Uno got its start in New York City’s Lower East Side where the groups founding member Nelson Zapata, attended high school. Born and raised in the Dominican Republic, Nelson started missing the native music of his homeland: Merengue. In 1990, he started a band called Proyecto Uno.

Equally influenced by his homeland and his new land, Nelson wanted to try mixing Merengue with the music he heard in NYC. He reached out to a friend who supplied him with a loop. From that loop, Proyecto Uno constructed a Spanish Language homage to Blackbox’s ‘Everybody Everybody.’ It was 1990 then and the nation was gripped by the Persian Gulf War. Nelson laughs, recalling his emotions back then. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh God!’ Don’t let the world end when I’ve just got a record out!”

Life went on and so did Proyecto Uno. Their next single was ‘Brinca’ which was more on the Hip-Hop. The song became a huge smash throughout Latin America. The success of ‘Brinca’ led to “Todo El Mundo,” their first full-length album. The title was an indication of Proyecto Uno’s vibe. “We wanted to take our music to the whole world,” Nelson says.

Soon the group was well on their way to living out that dream. They performed at sold-out shows in Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina. Nelson says, “We brought the New York Style, and we wanted to show South America how Latin culture is in the U.S.”

Shortly after their first international tour, Proyecto Uno enlisted Free-style singers Johnny Salgado and Erik Morales. The two Nuyoricans joined founding members Nelson. This new version of Proyecto Uno recorded ”in Da’ House” in 1993. The choice of an English title was deliberate. “In Da’ House” received better distribution and went platinum throughout Latin America. More importantly, Proyecto Uno’s blend of Merengue and old School started to make and impact in the United States, specifically because of a single called ‘El Tiburon.’ It was a major hit and laid the foundation for Proyecto Uno to ingratiate them to the U.S. market. “Another Night” followed this hit, and it quickly became an anthem of the romantic merengue side of Proyecto Uno.

The most recent member is Jose Medina, better known as “Spagga”. He is a dynamic and versatile Dominican rapper, who has been accepted by Proyecto Uno fans throughout Latin America and the U.S.

The production of “4” featured the international hit “25 Horas”. This song became a smash hit all across South America. It was such a great hit in Colombia that the group was asked to perform it at the Ms Colombia pageant, and another artist at the Ms Venezuela pageant performed it. Other hits from that album were the soft merengue “Al otro lado del Mar” and the meren-rap “Hombre Fiel”.

Proyecto Uno is now celebration it’s 10th anniversary. In order to celebrate this accomplishment, they are embarking in a world tour that includes Miami, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Spain, England, Venezuela and Ecuador among others. The one constant through the years of hits has been the music. “We have always strive to be innovators,” states Nelson. The new album is titled “PURA GOZADERA”…which stands for “PURE FUN”..which is what P-1 is all about.