Non so Tommy, ma...
..se intendi "El Cumbanchero" il classico latino-americano, Rafael Hernadez.
Rafael Hernandez
Born October 24, 1891 in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, Rafael Hernández Marin had little interest in music when he was a child. He thought he might grow up to become a train engineer or a cigar maker, and even worked in a local cigar factory. His grandmother had other ideas. She owned a small restaurant frequented by musicians and teachers. She asked one of her customers, a music teacher, to give lessons to her grandson.
Rafael studied solfeggio and various instruments. He joined the school band and had to settle for the only instrument available, the trumpet. But with his music teacher, he also learned to play the trombone, guitar, piano, violin, banjo, and the bombardino. He earned some money teaching others to play music, and performed with some local dance groups. He wrote his first song, a danza titled “Maria Victoria,” and his first waltz, named after an actress from Mexico. But Aguadilla was too small to provide many opportunities for a musician, so he moved to San Juan and found work playing music during silent films at a movie theater. He also played concerts in the park with a municipal band.
In 1917, Hernández wrote another waltz, “Mi Provisa.” The title was a made-up name, taken from the first names of three women Hernández knew – Providencia, Vicenta, and Rosa. He recorded for the Victor label in Puerto Rico as Orquesta Hernández. But with World War I raging across Europe, Hernández enlisted in the U.S. Army and served with the 375th U.S. Infantry Regiment Band. He saw action in France, where he composed the song “Oui Madame” and also served as a medic on the front lines.
After the war, Hernández returned home, but economic conditions were so poor, he emigrated to New York. In 1920, he was hired to be the orchestra leader of the Faustus Theater in Havana. He remained in Cuba for four years, where he became a prolific composer. After returning to New York, he formed the Trío Borinquen and wrote a number of hits for them, including “Siciliana” and “Mi Patria Tiembla.” In 1928, he recorded an album for Columbia Records of songs featuring lyrics by famous Puerto Rican poets set to his music.
One rainy day in 1929, Hernández was drinking rum with friends at a restaurant in Spanish Harlem. As they talked about missing their tropical homeland, Hernández moved over to a broken-down piano and spontaneously composed what would become his signature song, “Lamento Borincano.” The song became internationally famous, and in 1929 Hernández became the first composer from Puerto Rico to sign with peermusic.
He made a short visit to Mexico in 1930, and the following year returned to lead the orchestra for radio shows sponsored by a cigar manufacturer. When that six-month contract ended, Hernández remained in Mexico as music director for radio station XEB, then moved to XEW, where his thrice-weekly show “Sal de Uvas Picot” was very popular. He ended up staying in Mexico for 17 years and wrote many of his best songs during this period. He returned to Puerto Rico in 1947 and became the conductor of the Symphonette Orchestra on the country’s public radio station. Seven years later he was elected the honorary President of the Puerto Rico Composers and Authors Association.
In his lifetime, Hernández wrote over 3,000 songs in all different genres, but he was best known for his romantic boleros, such as “Campanitas de Cristal.” He also wrote patriotic themes, and his “Preciosa” is considered Puerto Rico’s second national anthem. He didn’t care much for a rumba he wrote, “El Cumbanchero,” but it became so popular that when he was invited to the White House for a ceremony honoring the Governor of Puerto Rico, President Kennedy said to him, “How are you, Mr. Cumbanchero?”
Rafael Hernández died in Puerto Rico on December 11, 1965, after losing a long battle with cancer. His catalog of over 3,000 songs continue to be recorded by contemporary artists in many different genres, including salsa, rap, reggae, and rock.
