Antonio Cabán Vale a.k.a. "El Topo" (born November 22, 1942), is a guitarist, singer and composer of Puerto Rican folklore themes. He is one of the founders of the "new song" movement (Spanish: nueva canción) of the early 1970s. His danza Verde Luz (Green Light) became a popular symbol of national dignity and has been interpreted by many renowned international singers.

Early life

Cabán Vale was born and raised in the town of Moca

Moca, Puerto Rico

Moca is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of Añasco; southeast of Aguadilla; east of Aguada; and west of Isabela and San Sebastián. Moca is spread over 12 wards and Moca Pueblo...

, which is located in the western part of Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. After he graduated from high school, he moved to 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...

 and in 1961, 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...

. During his student years at the university, he became known as "El Topo" and he wrote poems which were published in the university's publication "Guajana". In 1966, Cabán Vale earned his Bachelor's Degree in Arts and Social Sciences.

Musical career

For two years Cabán Vale earned a living as a public school teacher. In the 1970s, he began to add music to his poems and later founded a band which he named "Taone". He was the lead singer of the band through which he performed his compositions. His compositions contained simple verses and created a new style of popular folklore music which became popular in Puerto Rico. His musical style includes the use of those musical instruments which are typically Puerto Rican such as the "Cuatro

Cuatro (instrument)

The cuatro is any of several Latin American instruments of the guitar or lute family. The cuatro is smaller than a guitar. Cuatro means four in Spanish, although current instruments may have more than four strings....

" (a Puerto Rican guitar) and the "Guiro". Some of his compositions were popularized in many different versions.

Verde Luz

One of Cabán Vale's most popular compositions was of the danza

Danza

Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence dances, performed to a pattern, usually of squares, to...

  genre, titled Verde Luz (Green Light). Verde Luz has been interpreted by the late Argentine singer Ginamaría Hidalgo, and Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

 singers Chucho Avellanet

Chucho Avellanet

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, Roy Brown

Roy Brown (Puerto Rican musician)

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, Lucecita Benítez

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, Tony Croatto

Tony Croatto

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, Lou Briel

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, Nano Cabrera

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, Carmen Nydia Velázquez

Carmen Nydia Velázquez

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, José Feliciano

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.

Musical Compositions

Among the songs which Cabán recorded are the following:

• "Flor de Amapola" (Amapola Flower / Poppy);
• "Que Bonita Luna" (What a Beautiful Moon);
• "Donde vas Maria" (Where are you going Maria?);
• "Antonia" (song about Antonia Martínez
  Antonia Martínez
  Antonia Martínez Lagares was a 21-year-old student at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, native of Arecibo who was killed by a police officer...
  
   killed by the police during the 1970 UPR student protest);
• "Canciones de Amantes" (Songs for Lovers);
• "Verde Luz" (Green light);
• "La Patria Va";
• "Un Metro de Ternura"

Author

Cabán Vale has published two books with his poems; the first is entitled Un Lugar Fuera de Tiempo (A Place from Another Time) and is based on his experiences as a young man in his hometown Moca and the second Penultima Salida (The Exit Before the Last), deals with his personal quest in search for the "truth".

In 2001, the 6th International Book Fair celebrated at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum

Roberto Clemente

Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...

 in San Juan was dedicated to Antonio "El Topo" Cabán Vale.

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico
  Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
  
  
• Puerto Rican Songwriters