El General

El General (born Edgardo A. Franco) is a Panamanian Reggae en Español artist considered by some to be the Father of Reggae. During the early 1990s, he initiated the breakthrough of Reggae en Español to the international and somewhat mainstream market with two songs, “Te Ves Buena” and “Tu Pum Pum.” Both songs, performed in Spanish rap, were very successful in North America. After getting his foot in the door of the commercial market, many other Spanish rappers became famous in the mainstream as well, such as Vico C and DJ Negro. He has a unique, easy to listen to style of dance music and has produced many well known songs all over Latin America. His musical works have become popular in Latin America over the last few years. This style is called Reggae en Español or Spanish Reggae/Dancehall, because he makes reggae music with Spanish lyrics.

El General began singing and composing songs at the age of 12 in Rio Abajo, his home. After getting a scholarship, the young artist moved to the U.S. to study business administration, soon becoming a professional accountant. He started his career when he was 19 years old, and during 17 years, his albums achieved gold status 32 times and platinum 17 times, and several other awards. El General's type of music from Panama was something much different from the reggae of Jamaica. The popular music in Panama was called petroleo.

Songs like "Muevelo" (1991), "Tu Pum Pum" (1988), "Rica y Apretadita", and "Te Ves Buena" are among his greatest hits. In 1992, El General received the an MTV award for best Latin video with the great success of "Muevelo".

In 2004, he announced his retirement from the stages after an incident with the government of Panama because of the cancellation of his diplomatic passport. He alleged he was retiring to dedicate to his career as a producer and entrepreneur.

He is currently dedicated to his foundation Niños Pobres Sin Fronteras (Poor Children Without Borders) in Panama City hosting a program of his own called Sal, Azúcar, Miel y Canela (Salt, Sugar, Honey and Cinnamon) at Radio Kids.

Franco has left his career as a mainstream artist. He became a Jehovah's Witness, a religion his grandmother also professes. Now he spends his time teaching others about the Bible.