Sawt Falasteen - Family bid farewell to merengue singer, killed in Dominican nightclub disaster

Born Roberto Antonio Perez, the 69-year-old was given a private wake at the National Theater in the capital Santo Domingo, where the death toll from Tuesday's disaster has surged past 200.

"My soul is on the verge of exploding with love," Perez's daughter Zulinka sang at the ceremony attended by President Luis Abinader and other performers like Juan Luis Guerra as the Dominican Republic observed three days of national mourning for the many victims.

"In love with love," she continued, performing excerpts from tunes her father used to sing to her as a child.

Born on March 8, 1956, in Bajos de Haina, near Santo Domingo, Rubby Perez began his musical career in the late 1970s after studying at the National Conservatory of Music.

He had dreamed of becoming a baseball player as a child, but a traffic accident led him to change course and become one of merengue music's most recognizable voices.

The singer, known for hits such as "Volvere" (I'll be back) and "Enamorado de Ella (In love with Her), had a vocal quality and pitch that led to him being dubbed "The "highest voice of Merengue" -- a Caribbean genre characterized by fast, danceable beats.

Family members wept inconsolably as Abinader offered his condolences near the coffin surrounded by wreaths and topped with the artist's signature hat and glasses.

"My brother was a working man, a person who loved to work," Neifi Perez told reporters at the wake before breaking down in tears.

The theater is expected to open to the public later Thursday for a religious service.

D.Qudsi--SF-PST