Felipe Rodríguez
Encyclopedia
Luis Felipe Rodriguez, better known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, (May 8, 1926– May 26, 1999) born in Caguas, Puerto Rico
, was a singer of bolero
s. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records. Many of Rodríguez's recordings are often considered to be classics in Puerto Rico
.
and settled in Barrio Obrero, a working class district of San Juan. There Rodriguez went to school and practiced his singing skills during his free time. Julito Rodriguez
(no relation to Felipe), another bolero singer, heard Rodriguez sing and invited him to form a singing duo; they later they formed a trio called "Los Romanceros" (The Romantics) and he first took part in a radio program, the popular amateur showcase "Tribuna del Arte", hosted and produced by Rafael Quiñones Vidal
.
's stage name was based on Rodríguez's nickname.
audience by Argentine
singer Libertad Lamarque
. In 1954, Rodriguez met Pedro Ortiz Davila
"Davilita" and formed a very successful duo performing in such places as the Teatro Puerto Rico
. Even though "Davilita"'s voice was not as sharp as it was when he was younger, they were able to have many hits together, particularly the Pedro Flores
song "La Rosa Blanca" (The White Rose). In the 1960s, they, together with Rafael Cortijo
and El Gran Combo
confronted the new wave of rock music which was invading the island head-on.
In 1965, Rodriguez became the first Puerto Rican to sing the Puerto Rican national anthem, La Borinqueña
, at a sporting event, celebrated at Madison Square Garden
in New York City, where fellow Puerto Rican José "Chegui" Torres
won the World Light Heavyweight boxing
title in a fight against Willie Pastrano which was televised coast to coast in the United States. Rodríguez, as a matter of fact, was an amateur boxer in his youth, was an occasional referee at amateur boxing matches, and was a scout for young boxing talent.
" and in 1974, "Canciones de Rafael Hernández". Also in 1974, Felipe Rodriguez, Davilita and Pellin Rodríguez
(no relation to Felipe) recorded a trilogy
which also are considered as Christmas classics in Puerto Rico. These were "La Protesta de los Reyes" (The Protest of the Wisemen), "Parranda parrandera" and "Navidad" (Christmas
).
all of which became hits and are now considered as classics in Puerto Rico.
Center for Performing Arts in San Juan.
In the 1990s, Rodriguez continued to be active as a singer and when not singing he would be at the recording studio producing. He suffered a fall from a step ladder in his Carolina, P.R. home, which hurt his back. Eventually the fall complicated with a pneumonia
and contributed to his death. Felipe "La Voz" Rodriguez died on May 26, 1999 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
.
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....
, was a singer of bolero
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...
s. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records. Many of Rodríguez's recordings are often considered to be classics in 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...
.
Early years
Rodríguez was born in the Savarona section of Caguas, the son of a sharecropper and a midwife. He had a rough childhood; his father died before he was born. In 1930, his mother Carmen moved to SanturceSan 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 settled in Barrio Obrero, a working class district of San Juan. There Rodriguez went to school and practiced his singing skills during his free time. Julito Rodriguez
Julito Rodriguez
Julito Rodríguez born October 5, 1925 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, is a bolero singer, guitarist & composer.Rodriguez was acknowledged to be a child prodigy in music, becoming interested in this topic since his early childhood...
(no relation to Felipe), another bolero singer, heard Rodriguez sing and invited him to form a singing duo; they later they formed a trio called "Los Romanceros" (The Romantics) and he first took part in a radio program, the popular amateur showcase "Tribuna del Arte", hosted and produced by Rafael Quiñones Vidal
Rafael Quiñones Vidal
Rafael Quiñones Vidal was a journalist and a radio and television Master of Ceremonies....
.
"La Voz" (The Voice)
In 1950, Rodriguez left the trio and tried different projects, such as forming or joining other trios (particularly the Trío Los Antares), duos (he formed the "Dúo Pérez-Rodríguez" with his then wife, and continued his professional relationship with her long after their divorce) and singing solo. He was given the nickname, "La Voz" (The Voice), a name which was to stay with him for the rest of his life, by Puerto Rican radio announcer Mariano Artau. Héctor LavoeHéctor Lavoe
Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez , better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican salsa singer. Lavoe was born and raised in the Machuelito sector of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Early in his life, he attended a local music school and developed an interest inspired by Jesús Sánchez Erazo. He moved to New York...
's stage name was based on Rodríguez's nickname.
United States tour
Rodriguez went on tour in the United States where he broke the previous attendance and ticket records set for the HispanicHispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
audience by Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
singer Libertad Lamarque
Libertad Lamarque
Libertad Lamarque was an Argentine-Mexican actress and singer. Originally from Argentina, she reached fame throughout Latin America while living in Mexico and working in Mexican cinema.-Career:...
. In 1954, Rodriguez met Pedro Ortiz Davila
Pedro Ortiz Davila
Pedro Ortiz Davila a.k.a. "Davilita" was a popular singer of boleros and Puerto Rican patriotic songs.-Early years:...
"Davilita" and formed a very successful duo performing in such places as the Teatro Puerto Rico
Teatro Puerto Rico
The Teatro Puerto Rico was to the Latino community in the South Bronx what the Apollo Theater was to the African American community in the Harlem section of Manhattan. During its 1940s to 1950s "golden era," it was the hub of la farándula, a vaudeville-style package of Spanish-language events, and...
. Even though "Davilita"'s voice was not as sharp as it was when he was younger, they were able to have many hits together, particularly the Pedro Flores
Pedro Flores
Pedro Flores may refer to:*Pedro Flores , Puerto Rican composer*Pedro Flores , Mexican world boxing champion*Pedro Flores Garcia, Spanish painter*Pedro Flores , Filipino American who developed the modern yo-yo...
song "La Rosa Blanca" (The White Rose). In the 1960s, they, together with Rafael Cortijo
Rafael Cortijo
Rafael Cortijo , was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, and composer.As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and enjoyed the works of some of the era's most successful Plena music musicians...
and El Gran Combo
El Gran Combo
El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican Salsa music orchestra. It is Puerto Rico's most successful musical group, and one of the most popular salsa orchestras across Latin America...
confronted the new wave of rock music which was invading the island head-on.
In 1965, Rodriguez became the first Puerto Rican to sing the Puerto Rican national anthem, La Borinqueña
La Borinqueña
La Borinqueña is the official anthem of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. After Puerto Rico became the "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, signed law #2 of July 24, 1952 that stated that the musical composition known as "La Borinqueña" was to...
, at a sporting event, celebrated at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City, where fellow Puerto Rican José "Chegui" Torres
José Torres
José Torres , was a Puerto Rican professional boxer. As an amateur boxer, he won a silver medal in the junior middleweight at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne. In 1965, he defeated Willie Pastrano to win the WBC and WBA light heavyweight championships...
won the World Light Heavyweight boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
title in a fight against Willie Pastrano which was televised coast to coast in the United States. Rodríguez, as a matter of fact, was an amateur boxer in his youth, was an occasional referee at amateur boxing matches, and was a scout for young boxing talent.
Radio Show
Back in Puerto Rico, Rodriguez landed his own radio program at radio station WITA-AM in San Juan, called "Éste es tu disco" (This is your Record). In 1973, Rodriguez and Davilita paired again to record "Canciones de Pedro FloresPedro Flores (composer)
Pedro Flores born was one Puerto Rico's best known composers of Ballads and Boleros.-Early years:Flores was one of 12 children born into a poor family in the town of Naguabo, Puerto Rico. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old and therefore, he was forced to work at a young age...
" and in 1974, "Canciones de Rafael Hernández". Also in 1974, Felipe Rodriguez, Davilita and Pellin Rodríguez
Pellin Rodríguez
Pellín Rodríguez , was a Salsa singer. Rodríguez was a member of the musical group El Gran Combo and toured with them all over Europe and Latin America, gaining fame and popularity as a singer. In addition to his singing capabilities, Rodríguez had great comedic abilities and participated on...
(no relation to Felipe) recorded a trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
which also are considered as Christmas classics in Puerto Rico. These were "La Protesta de los Reyes" (The Protest of the Wisemen), "Parranda parrandera" and "Navidad" (Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
).
Recordings
In 1952, he recorded the following songs:- "La Ultima Copa" (The Last Cup), a tangoTango musicTango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
recorded as a bolero (and one of several such crossoverCrossover (music)Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
hits Rodríguez and others recorded), - "Golondrina Viajera",
- "Los Reyes no Llegaron" (The Three Wise Men did not Arrive), a poignant Christmas song written by Esteban Taronjí, and
- "Esta Navidad" (This Christmas)
all of which became hits and are now considered as classics in Puerto Rico.
Later years
In the 1980s, Rodriguez continued to record and had hits with "Por Primera Vez" (1983) (For the First Time) and "Juntos otra Vez" (1986) (Together Again). In 1987, he was able to realize one of his dreams when he performed at the Luis A. FerreLuis A. Ferré
Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...
Center for Performing Arts in San Juan.
In the 1990s, Rodriguez continued to be active as a singer and when not singing he would be at the recording studio producing. He suffered a fall from a step ladder in his Carolina, P.R. home, which hurt his back. Eventually the fall complicated with a pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and contributed to his death. Felipe "La Voz" Rodriguez died on May 26, 1999 in San Juan, Puerto Rico
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...
.