Daddy Yankee’s Parents: Is Ramon Ayala His Dad?

Is Ramón Ayala, the famous musician from Mexico, related to Daddy Yankee, the star from Puerto Rico? The question about Daddy Yankee’s parents, especially his father, comes up from time to time. Is the talented King of Reggaeton related to the famous Mexican musician and composer of Norteño and Conjunto music, Ramón Ayala? Daddy Yankee’s dad is named Ramón Ayala, but he does not appear to be any relation to the famous King of the Accordion, despite recent changes in Google searches and Wikipedia entries that seem to indicate otherwise. Neither musician has ever made reference to being related to the other, and past stories and biographies always reference different family members. However, the two are planning to sing a song together soon. So it appears that Daddy Yankee’s father is a different Ramón Ayala, who is a musician from Puerto Rico, not the King of Accordion from Mexico. Here’s why.

According to Daddy Yankee’s biography, he was born to Ramón Ayala and Rosa Rodriguez on February 3, 1977 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. His father was a bongosero (salsa percussionist) and his mother was also related to numerous musicians. He was raised in the Villa Kennedy housing projects in Puerto Rico, not in Mexico. There is no reason to believe that the famous Ramón Ayala is his father.

Daddy Yankee has two brothers and no sisters, while the famous Ramón Ayala has four children, including at least one daughter. Daddy Yankee’s younger brother is Melvin Ayala, who is a Christian rapper in Puerto Rico. Nomar, his older brother, was his manager and is now a minister at a church in Puerto Rico.

Daddy Yankee’s given name is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (named after his dad.) In contrast, the famous Ramón Ayala’s given name is Ramón Covarrubias Garza, born in 1945 in Mexico.

The famous musician Ramón Ayala was born in 1945 and has spent his entire life creating norteño music. His first accordion was a gift from his father, Ramón Covarruvias (different publications spell his last name with slight variations.) In 1959, his family emigrated to a town in Tamaulipas, Mexico, where Ramón worked in the cotton fields. In 1963, the song Ya No Llores gained notoriety for Ramón Ayala and Cornelio Reyna. In 1971, the duet broke up and Ramón Ayala began his new career, eventually forming Los Bravos Del Norte. Ramón Ayala has won many Grammys and had record sales.

According to Texas Monthly, the famous Ayala has four children and has been happily married for more than three decades to Linda. (Daddy Yankee’s mother’s name is Rosa.) The famous Ayala’s four children include the musician Ramón Ayala Jr. who was born in 1969 in Alice, Texas.  Yesenia Ayala is also one of Ramón Ayala’s children. In 2012, she ran to be on the Hidalgo school board and won.

Ramón Ayala and Daddy Yankee have worked together. In 2015, EFE reported that Ayala would be working with Daddy Yankee on his next project. No mention was made in the article of any relation between the two. The story says: “Mexican musician Ramón Ayala said recording a song with Puerto Rican reggaeton star Daddy Yankee was among his next projects. ‘I have a song for him and we’ll record it together soon,’ Ayala said in a press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles, where he was promoting his concert at the Greek Theatre this weekend.”

The article also notes the similarity in their names, but never mentions any relation, nor does Ayala give any quotes that indicate a family relation between the two stars. So as you can see, there is no reason to believe that Daddy Yankee is the famous musician Ramón Ayala’s son.

Here’s a video where Ramón Ayala discusses how he plans to sing with Daddy Yankee and other musicians:

An article in Fox News Latino from 2015 also talks about the two musicians’ plans to sing together, but never mentions any relation between them. The article notes: “Ayala, who is always open to eclectic projects, said he was happy to be able to work with Daddy Yankee, whose given name, coincidentally, is Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez.”

It’s safe to say that the famous Ayala is not the father of the famous Daddy Yankee. But both Ayala and Daddy Yankee have been blessed with families who support their musical careers and encourage them every step of the way. And according to this 2017 article in Univision, Daddy Yankee will be appearing on an album with the King of Accordion in 2018, celebrating his 50-year career.

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