Cubanocast

The Sotomayor special continues. Part one is here.

It's amazing how many famous Puerto Rican musicians collaborated with Rafael Hernandez: Myrta Silva, Daniel Santos, Pedro Florez, and Bobby Capo, amongst others.

Bobby Capo was one of the best Puerto Rican singers and song writers of the golden era of Caribbean music (excellent article here), the forties through the early sixties. He wrote and performed his own songs:

"Juguete," which Capo called his favorite, according to the article. It's the podcast.

"El Bardo" is about his marriage to Miss Puerto Rico 1948, Irma Nydia Vázquez, which her father protested for the common reasons that fathers protest marriages.

Perhaps Papa Vasquez had a point. Capo stayed married for 25 years, but strayed from the marriage many times. Latino double standard:

"Como Duele una Traicion"

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In honor of the first Puerto Rican nominee to the Supreme Court,** I thought I'd spend the next few days talking about Puerto Rican music.

You can get the basics at Wikipedia here. Many Puerto Rican music forms are similar to those of its neighbor, Cuba, which isn't surprising considering their similar histories and demographics, but many, like Bomba and Plena are unique to Puerto Rico.

The greatest figure in Puerto Rican music is Rafael Hernandez. He performed his own music early in his career, but he's mostly known now for having composed some of the greatest Latin American music of all time, his universal appeal proven by the selection below: singers from Brazil, United States, Cuba, Mexico, Argentina, and, of course, Puerto Rico.

"Preciosa" is a beautiful ode to his home island. I like this light-jazzy version by Puerto Rican band Impacto Crea.

Cobarde

Marc Anthony does a fine version. I saw him perform years ago at Universal studios with Celia Cruz and Oscar D'Leon. Nice show.

Desde un Principio: From the Beginning

"Ahora Seremos Feliz" by unknown mustachioed dude:

My favorite Hernandez song is "El Cumbanchero." Judging only by the amount of times it's been remade, it's one of the most popular Puerto Rican songs of all time. Listening to it, one can understand how successive generations can fall in love with its insistent beat and sharp melody. The video below explains that when Rafael Hernandez met President John Kennedy, that Kennedy addressed him as Mr. Cumbanchero.

Celia Cruz does a lovely version:

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