Americo Boschetti
Encyclopedia
Americo Boschetti is a singer, composer
and guitarist
. Composer of over 500 songs, Boschetti has also transformed many poems into songs by adding music to the lyrics.
, a section of San Juan
, the capital of Puerto Rico. However, he was raised in the town of Corozal
where his mother's family came from. There he received his primary and secondary education and at an early age was introduced to the world of music when his mother gave him a guitar
as a present. In 1964, he wrote in English
his first song influenced by the styles of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan
.
In 1968, Boschetti enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico
and became involved in the Puerto Rican independence movement
. He was also involved in the student protests of that era against the Vietnam War
, the presence of the ROTC in the university's campus and other political issues. He started writing songs directed towards social reforms and romantic themes.
, bolero
, salsa
, etc. The death of his mother Conchita, in 1970 affected him very much and may be reflected in the songs which he wrote in tribute to women, love and children.
In 1973, Boschetti decided to self-exile to avoid the U.S. military draft
. The exile , which lasted until 1978, started in Europe
, continued in Canada
and ended in the United States
. While in Europe, Boschetti wrote an operetta
based on the drowning of Diego Salcedo
by the Taíno
Agueybana II, brother of Taíno Cacique Agueybana
. The operetta included 36 of Boschetti's songs and made its debut in 1975 in Stromboli
, Italy
and in the United States in 1977 in Mandeville, Louisiana
.
Boschetti returned to Puerto Rico in 1978, however in 1977 he secretly visited the island to meet with Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera
. Rivera agreed to record one of Boschetti's song La Guaracha del ruiseñor, which he included in his album Alborada. Once Boschetti reestablished himself in the island, he co-founded the group "Colindancias". In 1981, Boschetti made his recording debut with the song Colindancias and went on tour.
In 1984, he decided to take a vacation (semi-retired) from the world of music. He had written over 500 songs and had also transformed some of the poems from the likes of Jose de Diego
, Luis Llorens Torres
, Julia de Burgos
, Juan Antonio Corretjer
and José Martí
into songs by adding music to the lyrics. During his vacation his songs were recorded by many artists, among them Haciendo Punto en Otro Son, Katraska, Danny Rivera, Perla del Sur, Cheo Feliciano
, Josy Latorre, and Moliendo Vidrio.
civil rights advocate who was murdered. Currently Americo Boschetti continues to write, record and perform with his band.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. Composer of over 500 songs, Boschetti has also transformed many poems into songs by adding music to the lyrics.
Early years
Boschetti was born in SanturceSanturce
Santurce can refer to:*Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, a district of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico*Santurtzi, a town near Bilbao, the Basque Country, Spain...
, a section of San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, the capital of Puerto Rico. However, he was raised in the town of Corozal
Corozal, Puerto Rico
Corozal is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south Vega Alta; southwest of Toa Alta; east of Morovis and Orocovis; and west of Naranjito. Corozal is spread over 12 wards and Corozal Pueblo...
where his mother's family came from. There he received his primary and secondary education and at an early age was introduced to the world of music when his mother gave him a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
as a present. In 1964, he wrote in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
his first song influenced by the styles of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
.
In 1968, Boschetti enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
and became involved in the Puerto Rican independence movement
Puerto Rican independence movement
The Puerto Rican independence movement refers to initiatives throughout the history of Puerto Rico aimed at obtaining independence for the Island, first from Spain, and then from the United States...
. He was also involved in the student protests of that era against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the presence of the ROTC in the university's campus and other political issues. He started writing songs directed towards social reforms and romantic themes.
Musical style
His compositions were not limited to one particular style, but to a diversified variety of styles which included rock and rollRock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
, salsa
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...
, etc. The death of his mother Conchita, in 1970 affected him very much and may be reflected in the songs which he wrote in tribute to women, love and children.
In 1973, Boschetti decided to self-exile to avoid the U.S. military draft
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
. The exile , which lasted until 1978, started in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, continued in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and ended in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. While in Europe, Boschetti wrote an operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
based on the drowning of Diego Salcedo
Diego Salcedo (soldier)
Diego Salcedo was a Spanish conquistador who allegedly lived during the colonization of the Americas. According to legend, his death at the hands of Taíno Indians ignited the Taíno rebellion of 1511....
by the Taíno
Taíno people
The Taínos were pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. It is thought that the seafaring Taínos are relatives of the Arawak people of South America...
Agueybana II, brother of Taíno Cacique Agueybana
Agüeybaná
Agüeybaná and Agüeybaná II , were the principal and most powerful caciques of the Taíno people in "Borikén" when the Spaniards first arrived on the island on November 19, 1493.- "The Great Sun" :...
. The operetta included 36 of Boschetti's songs and made its debut in 1975 in Stromboli
Stromboli
Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and in the United States in 1977 in Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville, Louisiana
Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,421 in 2008. Mandeville is located on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Interstate 12. It is across the lake from the city of New Orleans and its southshore suburbs...
.
Boschetti returned to Puerto Rico in 1978, however in 1977 he secretly visited the island to meet with Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera
Danny Rivera
Danny Rivera is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who was born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well-known in Puerto Rico for his political activism.-Musical career:...
. Rivera agreed to record one of Boschetti's song La Guaracha del ruiseñor, which he included in his album Alborada. Once Boschetti reestablished himself in the island, he co-founded the group "Colindancias". In 1981, Boschetti made his recording debut with the song Colindancias and went on tour.
Compositions
Among Boschetti's compositions are the following:- Guajira de la Espera
- Manuela
- Mujer
- El Cántico de las Hojas
- La Guaracha del Ruiseñor
- Mi Tierra Mía
- Señorita Sylvia
- Canción para los Ninos
- La Mujer de las Islas
In 1984, he decided to take a vacation (semi-retired) from the world of music. He had written over 500 songs and had also transformed some of the poems from the likes of Jose de Diego
José de Diego
José de Diego y Martínez , known as "The Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement", was a statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's independence from Spain and from the United States....
, Luis Llorens Torres
Luis Lloréns Torres
Luis Llorens Torres , was a Puerto Rican poet, playwright, and politician. He was an advocate for the independence of Puerto Rico.-Early years:...
, Julia de Burgos
Julia de Burgos
Julia Constancia Burgos García is considered by many as the greatest poet to have been born in Puerto Rico, and along with Gabriela Mistral, is considered as one of the greatest female poets of Latin America...
, Juan Antonio Corretjer
Juan Antonio Corretjer
Juan Antonio Corretjer Montes , was a poet, journalist and pro-independence political activist opposing United States rule in Puerto Rico.-Early years:...
and José Martí
José Martí
José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...
into songs by adding music to the lyrics. During his vacation his songs were recorded by many artists, among them Haciendo Punto en Otro Son, Katraska, Danny Rivera, Perla del Sur, Cheo Feliciano
Cheo Feliciano
José Feliciano, better known as Cheo Feliciano , is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music.-Early years:...
, Josy Latorre, and Moliendo Vidrio.
Later years
In 2000, he returned from his retirement and released Antología sencilla (Simple Anthology), which included 13 new compositions and 11 of his earlier songs. On April 25, 2004 he composed and recorded Canción Elegía, which he dedicated to Carlos Muñiz Varela, a young CubanCubans
Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
civil rights advocate who was murdered. Currently Americo Boschetti continues to write, record and perform with his band.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- Corsican immigration to Puerto RicoCorsican immigration to Puerto RicoCorsican immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of various economic and political changes in the mid-19th century Europe; among those factors were the social-economic changes which came about in Europe as a result of the Second Industrial Revolution, political discontent and widespread...