Noel Estrada
Encyclopedia
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...
s 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
Estrada was born in the town of Isabela, Puerto RicoIsabela, Puerto Rico
Isabela is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. Isabela is spread over 13 wards and Isabela Pueblo...
where he received his primary education. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, many Puerto Ricans either emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(mainly to the northeastern coast area) or joined the armed forces, with the hope of improving their economic situation. At the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Estrada joined and served in the Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. Being away from his homeland for the first time in his life would in the future serve him as inspiration when composing his world renowned Bolero "En mi viejo San Juan". In his youth he joined Fi Sigma Alfa Fraternity.
Musical compositions
Estrada became a government employee after being honorably discharged from the Army. He was a protocol official for the State Department. It was during the 1940s and 1950s that he felt his true calling for composing and that he wrote and interpreted his songs in Puerto Rico and in the U.S.Among the many songs which he wrote were the following: "El Romance del Cafetal" (Romance of the coffee field); "Verde Navidad" (Green Christmas); "El Amor del Jíbaro" (The poor farmers Love); "Pobre Amor" (Poor Love); "Pedacito de Borinquen" (A piece of Puerto Rico); "Amor del Alma" (Love of the Soul); "Lo Nuestro Termino" (Our love is Finished); etcetera. However, it was "En mi Viejo San Juan" (In my Old San Juan) that would bring Estrada international acclaim.
"En Mi Viejo San Juan"
Javier Solís
Javier Solís was a popular Mexican singer of boleros and rancheras, and a film actor.-Early history:...
, Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr
Vikki Carr is an American singer and humanitarian from El Paso, Texas. She has performed in a variety of music genres, including jazz, pop and country, but has enjoyed her greatest success singing in Spanish.-Career:After taking the stage name 'Vikki Carr', she signed with Liberty Records in 1962...
, Marco Antonio Muñiz
Marco Antonio Muñiz
Marco Antonio Muñiz is a singer from Jalisco, Mexico. Known all over Latin America, Muñiz actually has declared publicly and in most countries he has visited, that Puerto Rico is his second country, and many Puerto Ricans consider him to be an "honorary Puerto Rican"...
, 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...
, Ismael Rivera
Ismael Rivera
Ismael "Maelo" Rivera , was a renowned Puerto Rican composer and singer of salsa music.-Early life:Ismael Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on October 5, 1931. He was the first of five children born to Luis and Margarita Rivera. His father, Luis, was a carpenter and his mother a housewife...
, Pedro Rivera Toledo, Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz
Celia Cruz was a Cuban-American salsa singer, and was one of the most successful Salsa performers of the 20th century, having earned twenty-three gold albums...
, and Rocío Dúrcal
Rocío Dúrcal
Rocío Dúrcal , born as María de los Ángeles de Las Heras Ortíz, was a Spanish singer and actress, known artistically as Rocío Durcal. Spanish is the best selling solo albums with more than 80 million to date...
.
| Spanish (original version) |
translation |
|---|---|
Cuantos sueños forjé En mis noches de infancia. Mi primera ilusión Y mis cuitas de amor Son recuerdos del alma. Una tarde me fuí hacia extraña nación Pues lo quiso el destino. Pero mi corazón se quedó frente al mar En mi viejo San Juan. |
many dreams I forged in my childhood nights. My first illusion, and my troubles of love are memories of the soul. One afternoon I departed to a foreign nation, for that's how destiny would have it. But my heart remained before the sea, in my Old San Juan. |
Borinquen querida, Tierra de mi amor. Adiós... adiós, adiós Mi diosa del mar... Mi reina del palmar. Me voy pero un día volveré A buscar mi querer A soñar otra vez En mi viejo San Juan. |
My dear Borinquen* Land of my love Goodbye (goodbye, goodbye) My Goddess of the Sea My Queen of the palm grove I'm leaving but someday I'll return To search for my love To dream once again In my Old San Juan. |
Y el destino burló Mi terrible nostalgia. Y no pude volver Al San Juan que yo amé Pedacito de patria. Mi cabello blanqueó Y mi vida se va Ya la muerte me llama Y no quiero morir Alejado de tí Puerto Rico del alma. |
and destiny mocked my terrible nostalgia. And I could not return to the San Juan that I loved little piece of my homeland. My hair turned white, and my life is fleeting, death is now calling me. And I don't want to die Away from you, Puerto Rico of my soul! |
* Borinquen - another term for Puerto Rico, which originated in the indigenous language of the island
Later years
Estrada's composition "Mi romantico San Juan" (My romantic San Juan) won a first prize in the "Festival of the Puerto Rican Composer". In 1966, the City of San Juan honored Estrada by declaring him their adopted son.Noel Estrada died in the City of San Juan in 1979. San Juan and the town of Isabela have honored Estradas' memory by naming streets and a school after him.