Gerónimo Lluberas
Encyclopedia
Gerónimo "Gerry" Lluberas (January 7, 1956 - May 7, 2003) was a Puerto Rican physician
, humanitarian, writer
and composer
. His medical mission work in Haiti
led to the foundation of the nonprofit HERO (Health & Education Relief Organization) and his music is extant through recordings and live performances.
. The family later settled in Carolina, near San Juan, Puerto Rico
. He attended Roman Catholic parochial schools, took private accordion lessons and taught himself guitar. He showed an aptitude for the natural sciences, and he was eventually to earn a doctorate in medicine at the Universidad Central del Caribe in Cayey and to pursue a career as a rheumatologist.
He married Magali Huertas Amil in 1978 and the couple adopted two children in Bogotá
, Colombia
: Gerónimo Orlando in 1984 and Cristina Marcela in 1987.
Lluberas led an active religious life and, through his church, organized medical missions to Haiti. His first trip attracted local and international media attention when Lluberas and his team were stranded for several days in Belle Anse after roads and bridges were washed out by Hurricane Georges
. They were eventually airlifted out by helicopter.
Lluberas published research papers in an array of medical journals and also wrote fiction
. He composed dozens of Christian songs and studied painting and drawing.
At age 46, Lluberas was diagnosed with "unknown primary site" cancer
and began chemotherapy
. He died the following year. He was interred at Borinquen Memorial Cemetery in Caguas, Puerto Rico
.
in Río Piedras, Lluberas enrolled in the School of Medicine at the Universidad Central del Caribe. He was a member of the school's first graduating class, earning his MD in 1980.
He did his internship at Frankford Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
; residency in Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania; and specialty in Rheumatology at the V.A. Medical Center/University of Pennsylvania
Hospital. He practiced medicine and headed the internship program at Frankford Hospital.
In 1985, he co-authored his first professional journal article, on clinical research related to gout
.
In 1988, he accepted a position at the Lupus
Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He later established a private practice in Marietta, Georgia and treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis
, lupus, Paget's disease
, ankylosing spondylitis
, and Sjögren's syndrome
.
He was one of the first physicians to use the PROSORBA Column to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
He reflected his clinical experience and research interests in his professional journal writings which focused on Paget's disease, gonococcal arthritis and meningitis
, pyoarthritis, pseudolupus, chronic pain
and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lluberas also taught in the Nurse Practitioner Program at Kennesaw State University
and was associated with Kennestone Hospital
, later WellStar Kennestone http://www.wellstar.org/ws_content/ws_hospitals.aspx?id=396&pic_id=1328&menu_id=176, in Marietta.
Beginning in September 1998, Lluberas organized and led medical relief trips to Belle Anse, Haiti. During their first trip, Lluberas and his team examined about 400 patients with malnutrition, high-blood pressure, and diseases caused by poor sanitation and polluted water, and collected clinical data from 315 of these patients on hypertension
prevalence.
By April 2000, Lluberas and his teams had delivered basic health care to about 2,300 people in Belle Anse, saved the life of a four-month-old girl with meningitis, and rehabilitated patients with major injuries.
In late 1997, Lluberas outlined a plan for medical mission work in Belle Anse, Haiti that included building an improvised clinic to provide pre-natal care, vaccines for childhood diseases and Hepatitis A
and Hepatitis B, rehydration and eye care, and making "house calls" to local chapels. He identified the lack of safe water as the town's major underlying health care problem.
While stranded in the wake of Hurricane Georges
during his first mission to Belle Anse, Lluberas documented the impact of the storm on local roads, bridges, water systems, health, housing and agriculture.
Lluberas and his team returned to Belle Anse a year later despite safety concerns stemming from political instability in Haiti.
Following his third trip, in 2000, Lluberas outlined other initiatives to aid Belle Anse including delivering clothing and equipment, fixing the town's electric generator, upgrading the water supply, building a school and developing a wharf
.
In June 2000, Lluberas suggested starting a nonprofit organization
to fund future medical missions
and sponsor a full-time doctor in Belle Anse.
This proposal and Lluberas' comprehensive view of Belle Anse's needs laid the groundwork for the creation in 2003 of the nonprofit HERO (Health & Education Relief Organization) to build clinics, schools and basic infrastructure
throughout the country.
His humanitarian legacy is also evident in the establishment in December 2006 of the Gerónimo Lluberas Collection (medical library) at Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti.
As noted in the text of a plaque on display at the entrance to the Green Tower Satellite Medical Staff Library of WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA, the delivery of Lluberas' medical books to the hospital in Milot was made possible by Kennestone Hospital and the Pray It Forward Foundation http://66.152.22.123/about_the_doctor_.htm, "in loving memory" of Lluberas, "faithful servant of God, husband, father, physician, teacher and medical missionary to the people of Haiti."
with George Kudirka and continued his musical education with Luis Espindola http://www.luisespindolajazzband.com/ http://www.reverbnation.com/luisespindola.http://www.youtube.com/user/Lespindo Later, this avocation
helped to pay for medical school. He played the accordion with the popular dance band Calorías '76 which he formed and led.
In 1988 he composed his first piece that is still performed today, the danceable Puerto Rican Christmas
song "Aguinaldo del Cañaveral." After joining Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church in Marietta, Georgia
in 1989, he became active in the music ministry, working with conductor Rod Voss. He also furthered his musical training, studying piano
, music theory
and composition
.
By 2000 he was composing music for, and playing the accordion and guitar
with, the «Camino de Fe» choir at St. Ann Catholic Church, also in Marietta. He wrote "Camino de Fe" and "By the Lord's Word," among other songs that employed Caribbean
rhythms. For use as Parts of the Mass, he composed "Aclamación de las Naciones" and "Amén de las Naciones". In 2001, he began performing at St. Ann's «Opera Night» series.
Influenced by Andrew Lloyd Webber
, Rodgers and Hammerstein
, Georges Bizet
, Giacomo Puccini
, and forms from his native Puerto Rico, Lluberas wrote the libretto
, music and lyrics for a full-length musical theatre
work «Butterflies in the Rain Forest, A Christian Musical» (2001), inspired in part by his trips to Haiti.
Lluberas' secular songs include "Mendigo" and the poignant danza
"Desdeño."
In 2002, after he was diagnosed with cancer, he edited the songbook «Camino de Fe, Worship Compositions», a selected anthology of his works. As his illness progressed, he started work on «Suite on a Neutropenic State» for oboe
, string quintet
and timpani
, dedicated "To all on chemotherapy and their loves ones."
At his request, his meditative compositions "Lord, I Surrender to You" (2002) and "On My Knees" (2001) were sung at his funeral
.
Posthumously, excerpts and an abridged version of «Butterflies in the Rain Forest, A Christian Musical» have been presented in concert form.
In 2006, HERO Records released a CD of Gerónimo Lluberas' music titled «Butterflies in the Rain Forest/Music for Meditation & Celebration» http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/herorecords. It includes performances by, among others, singers J.J. Hobbs http://www.classical-artists.com/users/profile.php?a=00000371, Christopher Crommett
and Victor Ryan Robertson http://www.pinnaclearts.com/artist.php?id=531 (credits: Baz Lurhmann's La bohème, Royal Albert Hall
, Dallas Opera
, and Los Angeles Opera
), and arranger/saxophonist Gary Anderson http://www.gamusicpro.com, pianist Ed Bolduc http://www.emusic.com/artist/Ed-Bolduc-MP3-Download/11608756.html, trumpeter Forrest Buchtel http://www.feeltheurge.com/seeurge.htm# (credits: Count Basie
, Blood, Sweat & Tears
, Duke Ellington
, Woody Herman
, and Malo
) , arranger/pianist Michael Fauss http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=75257 (Alliance Theatre Company
), flautist Cristina Lluberas, and the «Camino de Fe» choir.
Lluberas' song "Aguinaldo del cañaveral", in an arrangement by Gary Anderson http://www.gamusicpro.com for symphony orchestra, vocal quartet and tenor soloist, is featured on the CD «Navidad de mi niñez» http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/christophercrommettandga which is scheduled to be released commercially in October 2011. In addition, Lluberas' is credited as co-composer, along with Christopher Crommett, of the opening song of the «Navidad de mi niñez» CD, entitled "Diciembre, diciembre".
) in the Roman Catholic Mass. He based many of his songs on the Psalms
, the Gospel of Luke
and other Biblical texts. He composed "Meditations on Christ: I. On His Gentle Mastery," for flute and piano; "A Christian Musical" («Butterflies in the Rain Forest»); and a celebration of the birth of Christ ("Aguinaldo del Cañaveral").
In several of his paintings and drawings, Lluberas depicted Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa
.
After settling in Marietta, Georgia, he became active in two Roman Catholic parishes, Transfiguration and St. Ann. At Transfiguration, he helped start the Respect for Life Ministries whose "womb to tomb" resources would range from pregnancy counseling to caring for the elderly.
Lluberas advocated Perpetual Adoration and the saying of the Rosary
.
He was a strong proponent of the power of prayer
. He participated in prayer teams at Charismatic movement
healing Masses. He led his medical team in prayer when the group was stranded in Belle Anse in the wake of Hurricane Georges. He said later, "the Lord was present all the way, every moment."
During another visit to Belle Anse, Lluberas prayed before he performed a delicate procedure to remove a foreign object embedded in the cornea
of an eight-year-old boy's eye. Despite Lluberas' lack of surgical training, the operation was a success and the young patient's sight was saved.
In 2000, Lluberas received the «Lumen Gentium» (Light of the People) award from Transfiguration Catholic Church, "honoring a parishioner who carries Christ’s spirit of love and gentleness into the world". Late in his life, Lluberas taught high school catechism
.
In the instructions for his funeral Mass, Lluberas asked that the celebrant convey to the congregation that, "all during my illness, I, as a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, was embraced by countless other members of His Body, in such a way that the yoke of my illness became very easy to bear."
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, humanitarian, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and composer
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...
. His medical mission work in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
led to the foundation of the nonprofit HERO (Health & Education Relief Organization) and his music is extant through recordings and live performances.
Life and profession
José Gerónimo Lluberas Acosta was the first of four boys born to attorney Gerónimo Lluberas-Kells and artisan Clara Acosta-Recurt. He spent his early childhood in his parents' birthplace of Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. The family later settled in Carolina, near 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...
. He attended Roman Catholic parochial schools, took private accordion lessons and taught himself guitar. He showed an aptitude for the natural sciences, and he was eventually to earn a doctorate in medicine at the Universidad Central del Caribe in Cayey and to pursue a career as a rheumatologist.
He married Magali Huertas Amil in 1978 and the couple adopted two children in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
: Gerónimo Orlando in 1984 and Cristina Marcela in 1987.
Lluberas led an active religious life and, through his church, organized medical missions to Haiti. His first trip attracted local and international media attention when Lluberas and his team were stranded for several days in Belle Anse after roads and bridges were washed out by Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges was a very destructive, powerful and long-lived Cape Verde-type Category 4 hurricane. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season...
. They were eventually airlifted out by helicopter.
Lluberas published research papers in an array of medical journals and also wrote fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
. He composed dozens of Christian songs and studied painting and drawing.
At age 46, Lluberas was diagnosed with "unknown primary site" cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and began chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
. He died the following year. He was interred at Borinquen Memorial Cemetery in Caguas, 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....
.
Medical career
In 1976, after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Puerto RicoUniversity 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...
in Río Piedras, Lluberas enrolled in the School of Medicine at the Universidad Central del Caribe. He was a member of the school's first graduating class, earning his MD in 1980.
He did his internship at Frankford Hospital, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
; residency in Internal Medicine at the Medical College of Pennsylvania; and specialty in Rheumatology at the V.A. Medical Center/University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
Hospital. He practiced medicine and headed the internship program at Frankford Hospital.
In 1985, he co-authored his first professional journal article, on clinical research related to gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
.
In 1988, he accepted a position at the Lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus , often abbreviated to SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage...
Center in Atlanta, Georgia. He later established a private practice in Marietta, Georgia and treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks synovial joints. The process produces an inflammatory response of the synovium secondary to hyperplasia of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development...
, lupus, Paget's disease
Paget's disease
Sir James Paget, a surgeon and pathologist, described several diseases, including:* Paget's disease of bone * Paget's disease of the breast* Paget-Schroetter disease* Extramammary Paget's disease...
, ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
, and Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome , also known as "Mikulicz disease" and "Sicca syndrome", is a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva....
.
He was one of the first physicians to use the PROSORBA Column to treat rheumatoid arthritis.
He reflected his clinical experience and research interests in his professional journal writings which focused on Paget's disease, gonococcal arthritis and meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
, pyoarthritis, pseudolupus, chronic pain
Chronic pain
Chronic pain has several different meanings in medicine. Traditionally, the distinction between acute and chronic pain has relied upon an arbitrary interval of time from onset; the two most commonly used markers being 3 months and 6 months since the initiation of pain, though some theorists and...
and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lluberas also taught in the Nurse Practitioner Program at Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University
Kennesaw State University, also referred to as KSU, Kennesaw, or Kennesaw State, is a public, coeducational, comprehensive university that is part of the University System of Georgia. The university's main campus is located in Kennesaw, Georgia, United States, approximately north of Atlanta...
and was associated with Kennestone Hospital
Kennestone Hospital
WellStar Kennestone Hospital is a major hospital located in Marietta, Georgia, serving much of northern and central Cobb County. It was acquired by the WellStar Health System in 2006.It is the only hospital in Georgia with a Cyberknife Radiosurgery system...
, later WellStar Kennestone http://www.wellstar.org/ws_content/ws_hospitals.aspx?id=396&pic_id=1328&menu_id=176, in Marietta.
Beginning in September 1998, Lluberas organized and led medical relief trips to Belle Anse, Haiti. During their first trip, Lluberas and his team examined about 400 patients with malnutrition, high-blood pressure, and diseases caused by poor sanitation and polluted water, and collected clinical data from 315 of these patients on hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
prevalence.
By April 2000, Lluberas and his teams had delivered basic health care to about 2,300 people in Belle Anse, saved the life of a four-month-old girl with meningitis, and rehabilitated patients with major injuries.
Humanitarian legacy
Lluberas wrote that, "Missionary work...[is] the only way to act when one refuses to sit by and do nothing to alleviate--however slightly--the plight [of poverty and disease] of our brethren."In late 1997, Lluberas outlined a plan for medical mission work in Belle Anse, Haiti that included building an improvised clinic to provide pre-natal care, vaccines for childhood diseases and Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
and Hepatitis B, rehydration and eye care, and making "house calls" to local chapels. He identified the lack of safe water as the town's major underlying health care problem.
While stranded in the wake of Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges
Hurricane Georges was a very destructive, powerful and long-lived Cape Verde-type Category 4 hurricane. Georges was the seventh tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1998 Atlantic hurricane season...
during his first mission to Belle Anse, Lluberas documented the impact of the storm on local roads, bridges, water systems, health, housing and agriculture.
Lluberas and his team returned to Belle Anse a year later despite safety concerns stemming from political instability in Haiti.
Following his third trip, in 2000, Lluberas outlined other initiatives to aid Belle Anse including delivering clothing and equipment, fixing the town's electric generator, upgrading the water supply, building a school and developing a wharf
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
.
In June 2000, Lluberas suggested starting a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
to fund future medical missions
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
and sponsor a full-time doctor in Belle Anse.
This proposal and Lluberas' comprehensive view of Belle Anse's needs laid the groundwork for the creation in 2003 of the nonprofit HERO (Health & Education Relief Organization) to build clinics, schools and basic infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
throughout the country.
His humanitarian legacy is also evident in the establishment in December 2006 of the Gerónimo Lluberas Collection (medical library) at Hôpital Sacré Coeur in Milot, Haiti.
As noted in the text of a plaque on display at the entrance to the Green Tower Satellite Medical Staff Library of WellStar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta, GA, the delivery of Lluberas' medical books to the hospital in Milot was made possible by Kennestone Hospital and the Pray It Forward Foundation http://66.152.22.123/about_the_doctor_.htm, "in loving memory" of Lluberas, "faithful servant of God, husband, father, physician, teacher and medical missionary to the people of Haiti."
Musical career
As a child in Puerto Rico, Lluberas studied the accordionAccordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
with George Kudirka and continued his musical education with Luis Espindola http://www.luisespindolajazzband.com/ http://www.reverbnation.com/luisespindola.http://www.youtube.com/user/Lespindo Later, this avocation
Avocation
An avocation is an activity that one engages in as a hobby outside one's main occupation. There are many examples of people whose professions were the ways that they made their livings, but for whom their activities outside of their workplaces were their true passions in life...
helped to pay for medical school. He played the accordion with the popular dance band Calorías '76 which he formed and led.
In 1988 he composed his first piece that is still performed today, the danceable Puerto Rican 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...
song "Aguinaldo del Cañaveral." After joining Transfiguration Roman Catholic Church in Marietta, Georgia
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
in 1989, he became active in the music ministry, working with conductor Rod Voss. He also furthered his musical training, studying piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
.
By 2000 he was composing music for, and playing the accordion and 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...
with, the «Camino de Fe» choir at St. Ann Catholic Church, also in Marietta. He wrote "Camino de Fe" and "By the Lord's Word," among other songs that employed Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
rhythms. For use as Parts of the Mass, he composed "Aclamación de las Naciones" and "Amén de las Naciones". In 2001, he began performing at St. Ann's «Opera Night» series.
Influenced by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
, Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
, Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
, Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
, and forms from his native Puerto Rico, Lluberas wrote the libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, music and lyrics for a full-length musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
work «Butterflies in the Rain Forest, A Christian Musical» (2001), inspired in part by his trips to Haiti.
Lluberas' secular songs include "Mendigo" and the poignant 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...
"Desdeño."
In 2002, after he was diagnosed with cancer, he edited the songbook «Camino de Fe, Worship Compositions», a selected anthology of his works. As his illness progressed, he started work on «Suite on a Neutropenic State» for oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
, string quintet
String quintet
A string quintet is a musical composition for a standard string quartet supplemented by a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello , but occasionally a double bass. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who favoured addition of a viola, is considered a pioneer of the form...
and timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, dedicated "To all on chemotherapy and their loves ones."
At his request, his meditative compositions "Lord, I Surrender to You" (2002) and "On My Knees" (2001) were sung at his funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
.
Posthumously, excerpts and an abridged version of «Butterflies in the Rain Forest, A Christian Musical» have been presented in concert form.
In 2006, HERO Records released a CD of Gerónimo Lluberas' music titled «Butterflies in the Rain Forest/Music for Meditation & Celebration» http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/herorecords. It includes performances by, among others, singers J.J. Hobbs http://www.classical-artists.com/users/profile.php?a=00000371, Christopher Crommett
Christopher Crommett
Christopher Crommett , was the CNN senior vice president in charge of CNN en Español, CNN's Spanish language division, from 2002-2009. Crommett is currently a media strategist with NewsCertified Exchange. He also serves as a consultant to businesses in the U.S. and Latin America.-Early...
and Victor Ryan Robertson http://www.pinnaclearts.com/artist.php?id=531 (credits: Baz Lurhmann's La bohème, Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, Dallas Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...
, and Los Angeles Opera
Los Angeles Opera
The Los Angeles Opera is an opera company in Los Angeles, California. It is the fourth largest opera company in the United States. The company's home base is the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, part of the Los Angeles Music Center.-Current leadership:...
), and arranger/saxophonist Gary Anderson http://www.gamusicpro.com, pianist Ed Bolduc http://www.emusic.com/artist/Ed-Bolduc-MP3-Download/11608756.html, trumpeter Forrest Buchtel http://www.feeltheurge.com/seeurge.htm# (credits: Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
, and Malo
Malo
Malo was an American Latin-tinged rock and roll group. The San Francisco-based ensemble was led by Arcelio Garcia and Jorge Santana, the brother of Latin-rock guitarist, Carlos Santana....
) , arranger/pianist Michael Fauss http://www.ibdb.com/person.asp?ID=75257 (Alliance Theatre Company
Alliance Theatre Company
The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal Theatre, staged its first production at the Alliance in...
), flautist Cristina Lluberas, and the «Camino de Fe» choir.
Lluberas' song "Aguinaldo del cañaveral", in an arrangement by Gary Anderson http://www.gamusicpro.com for symphony orchestra, vocal quartet and tenor soloist, is featured on the CD «Navidad de mi niñez» http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/christophercrommettandga which is scheduled to be released commercially in October 2011. In addition, Lluberas' is credited as co-composer, along with Christopher Crommett, of the opening song of the «Navidad de mi niñez» CD, entitled "Diciembre, diciembre".
Religious faith
A devout Roman Catholic, Lluberas' religious beliefs are reflected in his musical compositions. He wrote his earliest known piece, "Amén Jíbaro" (1973), to be sung as The Great Amen (The DoxologyDoxology
A doxology is a short hymn of praises to God in various Christian worship services, often added to the end of canticles, psalms, and hymns...
) in the Roman Catholic Mass. He based many of his songs on the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, the Gospel of Luke
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...
and other Biblical texts. He composed "Meditations on Christ: I. On His Gentle Mastery," for flute and piano; "A Christian Musical" («Butterflies in the Rain Forest»); and a celebration of the birth of Christ ("Aguinaldo del Cañaveral").
In several of his paintings and drawings, Lluberas depicted Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
.
After settling in Marietta, Georgia, he became active in two Roman Catholic parishes, Transfiguration and St. Ann. At Transfiguration, he helped start the Respect for Life Ministries whose "womb to tomb" resources would range from pregnancy counseling to caring for the elderly.
Lluberas advocated Perpetual Adoration and the saying of the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
.
He was a strong proponent of the power of prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
. He participated in prayer teams at Charismatic movement
Charismatic movement
The term charismatic movement is used in varying senses to describe 20th century developments in various Christian denominations. It describes an ongoing international, cross-denominational/non-denominational Christian movement in which individual, historically mainstream congregations adopt...
healing Masses. He led his medical team in prayer when the group was stranded in Belle Anse in the wake of Hurricane Georges. He said later, "the Lord was present all the way, every moment."
During another visit to Belle Anse, Lluberas prayed before he performed a delicate procedure to remove a foreign object embedded in the cornea
Cornea
The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light, with the cornea accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power. In humans, the refractive power of the cornea is...
of an eight-year-old boy's eye. Despite Lluberas' lack of surgical training, the operation was a success and the young patient's sight was saved.
In 2000, Lluberas received the «Lumen Gentium» (Light of the People) award from Transfiguration Catholic Church, "honoring a parishioner who carries Christ’s spirit of love and gentleness into the world". Late in his life, Lluberas taught high school catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
.
In the instructions for his funeral Mass, Lluberas asked that the celebrant convey to the congregation that, "all during my illness, I, as a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, was embraced by countless other members of His Body, in such a way that the yoke of my illness became very easy to bear."