• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

International Salsa Magazine

  • Home
  • Previous editions
    • 2025
      • ISM / April 2025
      • ISM / March 2025
      • ISM / February 2025
      • ISM / January 2025
    • 2024
      • ISM / December 2024
      • ISM / November 2024
      • ISM / October 2024
      • ISM / September 2024
      • ISM / August 2024
      • ISM / July 2024
      • ISM / June 2024
      • ISM / May 2024
      • ISM / April 2024
      • ISM / March 2024
      • ISM / February 2024
      • ISM / January 2024
    • 2023
      • ISM / December 2023
      • ISM / November 2023
      • ISM / October 2023
      • ISM – September 2023
      • ISM – August 2023
      • ISM July 2023
      • ISM Edition June 2023
      • ISM – May 2023
      • ISM April 2023
      • ISM March 2023
      • ISM February 2023
      • ISM January 2023
    • 2022
      • ISM December 2022
      • ISM November 2022
      • ISM October 2022
      • ISM September 2022
      • ISM August 2022
      • ISM July 2022
      • ISM June 2022
      • ISM May 2022
      • ISM February 2022
      • ISM January 2022
    • 2021
      • ISM December 2021
      • ISM November 2021
      • ISM October – 2021
      • ISM September 2021
      • ISM August 2021
      • ISM July 2021
      • ISM May 2021
      • ISM April 2021
      • ISM June 2021
      • ISM March 2021
      • ISM February 2021
      • ISM January 2021
    • 2020
      • ISM December 2020
      • ISM November 2020
      • ISM October 2020
      • ISM September 2020
      • ISM August 2020
      • ISM July 2020
      • ISM June 2020
      • ISM May 2020
      • ISM April 2020
      • ISM March 2020
      • ISM February 2020
      • ISM January 2020
    • 2019
      • ISM December 2019
      • ISM November 2019
      • ISM October 2019
      • ISM Septembre 2019
      • ISM August 2019
      • ISM July 2019
      • ISM June 2019
      • ISM May 2019
      • ISM April 2019
      • ISM March 2019
      • ISM February 2019
      • ISM January 2019
    • 2018
      • ISM December 2018
      • ISM November 2018
      • ISM October 2018
      • ISM September 2018
      • ISM August 2018
      • ISM July 2018
      • ISM June 2018
      • ISM May 2018
      • ISM April 2018
      • ISM March 2018
      • ISM February 2018
      • ISM January 2018
    • 2017
      • ISM December 2017
      • ISM November 2017
  • Download Salsa App
    • Android
    • Apple
  • Spanish

Danibel Breton “The Barbie of the Accordion in the Dominican Republic”

Danibel Breton was born on November 13, 1997, at the Santiago Rodriguez General Hospital in San Ignacio de Sabaneta.

She is the second daughter of Mr. David Breton and Mrs. Maribel Breton.

When she was a few months old, her family moved to Santo Domingo East in search of better opportunities. She was always a happy child, intelligent and very dedicated to her studies.

Her mother recalls that in her first years of school when Danibel arrived home she immediately took out her school supplies and began to do her homework.

She has always shown a vocation for painting, the arts and she loved to sing and dance. She participated for several years in the dance ministry in her parish.

His interest in typical music was born at the age of thirteen. Accordionist Reyes Pilarte would go to La Barbie’s house to teach her father, David Breton, how to play.

One day after witnessing several accordion lessons Danibel asked her father for the accordion and performed the merengue “El puente seco” much better than her father. After that day she started taking weekly accordion lessons with Reyes Pilarte, a native of Los Bombones, Santiago Rodriguez.

Her first stage performance was at El Rincón Santiago Rodríguez where Bartolo Alvarado El Ciego de Nagua, gave her the opportunity to play for the first time.

Maestro Bartolo Alvarado was very impressed by her playing at such a young age. When he felt Danibel’s face with his hands, El Ciego de Nagua said: “She is a doll”, and from there Danibel Breton’s first artistic name was born: “La Muñeca del acordeón” (The Accordion Doll).

A few weeks later they discovered that there was already an accordionist with the name “La Muñeca”, so Danibel Breton was baptized as “La Barbie del Acordeón” because of her similarity to the popular doll with blonde hair and light eyes.

Other artists that gave her participation on stage before she launched herself professionally were: Narciso El Pavarotti, Manny Jovany, El Prodigio, La Reyna Maria Diaz, Banda Real, among others. These presentations helped her to grow as an artist, to fall in love with the stage and to discover her passion for typical music.

Along with her music, accordion and singing lessons, Danibel Breton studied English, Voiceover and Accounting before working professionally in music. At the present time she continues to receive singing lessons and is studying law, which she started at the Universidad Católica del Este (UCADE) and continued in Santiago at the UAPA University.

Since she wrote her first merengue with the help of her father and older sister, she and her family have dreamed of launching the musical project of Accordion Barbie.

As God’s timing is perfect, the opportunity to start the project professionally presented itself at the beginning of 2018, when David Breton, Barbie’s father and an ensemble of typical music professionals carefully selected each of the musicians and arrangers that are part of La Barbie del Acordeón.

On September 29, 2018 at The New Monte Bar, in Santiago de los Caballeros, the grand Debut of “La Barbie el Acordeón” took place. Danibel Breton narrates that she says she felt very excited to see her dream come true.

For her, playing typical music is an opportunity to represent Dominican women in the new generation of perico ripiao artists, to preserve the merengue derecho or “de línea” and at the same time to make modern songs to captivate a young audience.

Home

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Augusto Felibertt
Augusto Felibertt
Latin America Coordinator at International Salsa Magazine LLC
[email protected]

P.O. Box 50631
Palo Alto, CA 94303
+1 408 287-9500
Augusto Felibertt
Latest posts by Augusto Felibertt (see all)
  • Eddie Montalvo Iron Hands: “I’m in love with Venezuela” - April 30, 2025
  • Ignacio Piñero Septeto Nacional has played an important role in Cuba’s music for more than seven decades - April 30, 2025
  • Ismael ‘Pat’ Quintana, born in Ponce Puerto Rico, began his musical career in 1961 alongside Eddie Palmieri and La Perfecta - April 30, 2025

International Salsa Magazine (ISM) is a monthly publication about Salsa activities around the world, that has been publishing since 2007. It is a world network of volunteers coordinated by ISM Magazine. We are working to strengthen all the events by working together.