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Merengue Legend Axed Promoters After They Helped Her Get Visa, Suit Says

By James Fanelli | September 15, 2014 3:17pm
 Two Bronx concert promoters claim they were dumped by famed Dominican Republic merengue singer Fefita la Grande after working for years to get her a travel visa to the United States.
Fefita La Grande
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CONCOURSE — Two Bronx music impresarios are singing the blues because their agency's top talent — a famed Dominican chanteuse who had been banned from visiting the United States — ditched them after they worked for years to get her a visa, a lawsuit says.

Rafael Gil Taveras and Rafael Luna accuse merengue legend Fefita la Grande of ditching them for another New York concert promoter, Vidal Cedeno, after the State Department cleared her to enter the U.S. in May.

They claim the kiss-off will kill their business and undermines their hard work in bringing her to the states after she was banned from entering the country for more than a decade.

"Taveras' ability to earn a living depends upon his reputation for being able to secure and deliver 'top-name talent,' as he has done through his career, and as he hopes to do with Fefita after 13 years of working to bring her to the U.S.," the lawsuit says.

Taveras and Luna claim in a lawsuit filed on Aug. 27 in Bronx Supreme Court that their agency, Prolaga Sales of Video Music, has had the right to represent Fefita both in the Dominican Republic and internationally since 2005.

A contract they signed with her said if she were ever allowed back in the United States, they would split the revenue from any stateside concerts with her 50-50, the lawsuit says.

However, Fefita, whose real name is Manuela Josefa Cabrera Taveras, was banned from entering the United States in 2001 after she was busted illegally trying to sneak a relative into the states, according to court papers.

Starting in 2004, Taveras and Luna made four visa petitions to the U.S. State Department and traveled to the Dominican Republic dozens of times to get her travel clearance, the lawsuit says.

During the past two years, Taveras and Luna also reached out to Rep. Charles Rangel and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez to get the State Department to drop the ban, according to court papers. Both Rangel and Rodriguez' offices subsequently wrote letters to and held discussions with the State Department on Fefita's behalf, the lawsuit says. The letters were included in the court papers.

But in 2013 the duo got wind that Cedeno was publicizing an Aug. 30, 2014, show for Fefita at the United Palace Theater in Washington Heights. When Taveras confronted Fefita about it, she told him that he was still her only representative, the lawsuit claims.

On May 6, 2014, Luna visited Rangel's office, which sent an email in support of a possible visa to the U.S. Consulate's office in the Dominican Republic, the lawsuit says. But a day later, the consulate notified Rangel's office that Fefita was already scheduled for a visa appointment.

Three days later, the consulate granted Fefita a visa, but it listed Cedeno as the employer sponsor, the lawsuit says.

Taveras and Luna claim Cedeno then booked her for July 11 gig at Yankee Stadium, where she was paid $20,000. Aside from also playing the show at the Palace Theater, Fefita is also planning to play the theater at Madison Square Garden.

Luna and Taveras are suing Cedeno and Fefita for more than $3 million, claiming he had no right to book her for concerts in the states.

Neither Taveras nor Cedeno responded to requests for comment. Luna and Fefita could not be reached for comment.