Glenn Monroig
Encyclopedia
Glenn Monroig is a composer
, guitarist
, and singer of various types of music styles, such as salsa
, boleros and rumba
. He is credited with having recorded the first rap
song in Spanish.
where he received his primary and secondary education. Monroig, his brother Gilberto Jr. and sister Linda were in constant contact with the world of music and were influenced at an early age by their famous father, the renowned singer of boleros, Gilberto Monroig
. His professional debut as a singer was at age 14 when he sang at his father's night club La Guitarra de Gilberto and later went on to perform at places like Ocho Puertas La Tea and other cafe theaters in old San Juan.
in the "OTI" Music Festival with the song "Mirame a los Ojos" (Look into My Eyes). That year he also started his own record label "Mamoku" and later also founded his own recording company called "Sitting Duck".
rap song. In 1984, he recorded and sang the song "Me Dijeron" (I was told), which treated the sensitive subject of homosexuality in a respectful way. In 1986, Monroig had one of his greatest "hits' with "Por Siempre" (Forever). He started composing by converting English
songs into Spanish, such as "Forever" which was originally written by Kenny Loggins
.
Among the singers who have worked with Glenn are:
With Lunna, Monroig recorded "A Todo Dar" (Everything Goes), the "first" digitally produced album in Puerto Rico. Monroig also wrote the anti-drug theme song for the Government of Puerto Rico
's campaign against drugs. The theme has been recorded by Ednita Nazario
, Danny Rivera
, Sophy and the group Menudo
. Some of the other different styles of music that he has recorded are boleros such as "Intimo", rumbas such as "Rumbo a rumba" and blues
with "Nevando en Puerto Rico".
In the 1990s, Monroig established the "Mezza Lunna Recording Studios" in San Juan, where he continued to work with national and internationally known artists. He also produced and directed musical videos for various artists.
Hall of the Luis A. Ferre
Center for the Performing Arts (Centro de Bellas Artes) in San Juan. Monroig is currently involved in all of the aspects of music.
After several years of inactivity Monroig released A papi in 2007. The production was intended as an homage, and is composed of twenty-seven songs originally sang by Gilberto Monroig, released in a two disk set. The album includes Monroig's commentary on several matters including his relationship with his father and parts of his life. The music was composed by Franky Suárez and was performed by more than fifty musicians. The production was well received by the Puerto Rican media, with mainstream newspaper Primera Hora calling Monroig's performance a "prodigious interpretation, which defies the atmosphere and displays his strength and vocal versatility", while at the same time illustrating a "man of marvelous sapience and an exquisite taste for romantic and candent melody." The musical soundtrack received a similar reception, being regarded as "excellent interpretations". After twelve year without publishing an entirely original proposal, Monroig announced the release of a new production in October 2008. Among the themes included there is a song name "Claro" which criticizes the political situation of Puerto Rico.
. Monroig is currently married to graphic designer Sonia Rivera with whom he has a daughter - Salomé - born in 2004. Glenn Monroig has been an outspoken supporter of many causes, such as the anti Castro
movements.
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...
, 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...
, and singer of various types of music styles, such as salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, boleros and rumba
Cuban Rumba
In Cuban music, Rumba is a generic term covering a variety of musical rhythms and associated dances. The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Africans brought to Cuba as slaves as well as Spanish colonizers...
. He is credited with having recorded the first rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
song in Spanish.
Early years
Monroig was born in San Juan, Puerto RicoSan 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...
where he received his primary and secondary education. Monroig, his brother Gilberto Jr. and sister Linda were in constant contact with the world of music and were influenced at an early age by their famous father, the renowned singer of boleros, Gilberto Monroig
Gilberto Monroig
Gilberto Monroig was a guitarist, and singer of boleros.-Early years:Monroig's parents moved from the countryside to the city in search of a better way of life and settled in the Villa Palmera sector of Santurce, a section of San Juan where the musical sounds of the bomba and plena and of the...
. His professional debut as a singer was at age 14 when he sang at his father's night club La Guitarra de Gilberto and later went on to perform at places like Ocho Puertas La Tea and other cafe theaters in old San Juan.
First recording
In 1980, Monroig recorded and had his first "hit" with "Jamas te voy abandonar asi otra vez" (I'm never gonna leave you this way again). In 1982, he represented Puerto RicoPuerto 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...
in the "OTI" Music Festival with the song "Mirame a los Ojos" (Look into My Eyes). That year he also started his own record label "Mamoku" and later also founded his own recording company called "Sitting Duck".
The first Spanish language rap song
In 1983, Monroig recorded "No Finjas", the first Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
rap song. In 1984, he recorded and sang the song "Me Dijeron" (I was told), which treated the sensitive subject of homosexuality in a respectful way. In 1986, Monroig had one of his greatest "hits' with "Por Siempre" (Forever). He started composing by converting 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...
songs into Spanish, such as "Forever" which was originally written by Kenny Loggins
Kenny Loggins
During the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
.
Among the singers who have worked with Glenn are:
- Emmanuel,
- Luis EnriqueLuis EnriqueLuís Enrique is a given name, and may refer to:*Luis Enrique Martínez García, Spanish football manager and former player*Luis Enrique "Neco" Martinez, Colombian football goalkeeper*Luis Enrique, Nicaraguan salsa singer...
, - Cheo FelicianoCheo FelicianoJosé Feliciano, better known as Cheo Feliciano , is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music.-Early years:...
, - Lucecita BenítezLucecita BenítezLuz Esther Benítez , better known in the music world as Lucecita, is a Puerto Rican singer.-Biography:Lucecita was a member of what is historically known in Puerto Rico as the New Wave, or Nueva Ola of popular music, created by Alfred D. Herger, alongside Lissette and Chucho Avellanet, among others...
, - Nydia CaroNydia CaroNydia Caro is an American & Puerto Rican actress and singer. Born in New York City to parents from Rincón, Puerto Rico, she initiated her career in the arts at a very young age while living in New York...
, - Yolandita MongeYolandita MongeYolandita Monge is an international singer and actress from Puerto Rico and the first Puerto Rican female singer to be nominated to the Grammy Music Awards. She is also Puerto Rico's highest selling female artist. She has been in the music business since adolescence, and has recorded over thirty...
, - LunnaLunnaLunna , is a singer of Pop and Jazz who was the director of the television show Objetivo Fama, the Latin version of American Idol.-Early years:...
, - Kenny LogginsKenny LogginsDuring the next decade, Loggins recorded so many successful songs for film soundtracks that he was referred to as, King of the Movie Soundtrack.He began with "I'm Alright" , "Mr. Night", and "Lead the Way" from Caddyshack...
(when he visited Puerto Rico), - His father Gilberto.
With Lunna, Monroig recorded "A Todo Dar" (Everything Goes), the "first" digitally produced album in Puerto Rico. Monroig also wrote the anti-drug theme song for the Government of Puerto Rico
Government of Puerto Rico
The Government of Puerto Rico is a republican form of government subject to U.S. jurisdiction and sovereignty. Its current powers are all delegated by the United States Congress and lack full protection under the United States Constitution...
's campaign against drugs. The theme has been recorded by Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario
Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....
, 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:...
, Sophy and the group Menudo
Menudo (band)
Menudo was a Puerto Rican boy band that was formed in the 1970s by producer Edgardo Díaz, releasing their first album in 1977. The band achieved much success, especially during the 1980s, becoming the most popular Latin American teen musical group of the era....
. Some of the other different styles of music that he has recorded are boleros such as "Intimo", rumbas such as "Rumbo a rumba" and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
with "Nevando en Puerto Rico".
In the 1990s, Monroig established the "Mezza Lunna Recording Studios" in San Juan, where he continued to work with national and internationally known artists. He also produced and directed musical videos for various artists.
2003-present
On September 2003, Monroig presented his "Esos son otros 20 pesos" (That will be another 20 dollars/That's another story) concert at the Antonio PaoliAntonio Paolí
Antonio Paoli was a Puerto Rican tenor. He was known at the height of his fame as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame in the musical arts...
Hall of the Luis A. Ferre
Luis 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 the Performing Arts (Centro de Bellas Artes) in San Juan. Monroig is currently involved in all of the aspects of music.
After several years of inactivity Monroig released A papi in 2007. The production was intended as an homage, and is composed of twenty-seven songs originally sang by Gilberto Monroig, released in a two disk set. The album includes Monroig's commentary on several matters including his relationship with his father and parts of his life. The music was composed by Franky Suárez and was performed by more than fifty musicians. The production was well received by the Puerto Rican media, with mainstream newspaper Primera Hora calling Monroig's performance a "prodigious interpretation, which defies the atmosphere and displays his strength and vocal versatility", while at the same time illustrating a "man of marvelous sapience and an exquisite taste for romantic and candent melody." The musical soundtrack received a similar reception, being regarded as "excellent interpretations". After twelve year without publishing an entirely original proposal, Monroig announced the release of a new production in October 2008. Among the themes included there is a song name "Claro" which criticizes the political situation of Puerto Rico.
Personal life
He had a long romance with Camille Carrion and became a second father to Carrion's daughter, Paloma SuauPaloma Suau
Paloma Suau is a Spanish–Puerto Rican film and video director, writer, editor and actress. Suau's father, Gabriel Suau, is a Spaniard who immigrated to Puerto Rico, where he became a well known television figure. Her mother is Camille Carrion, a well known Puerto Rican actress...
. Monroig is currently married to graphic designer Sonia Rivera with whom he has a daughter - Salomé - born in 2004. Glenn Monroig has been an outspoken supporter of many causes, such as the anti Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
movements.
See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- French immigration to Puerto RicoFrench immigration to Puerto RicoThe French immigration to Puerto Rico came about as a result of the economic and political situations which occurred in various places such as Louisiana , Saint-Domingue and in Europe....
- Puerto Rican Songwriters