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A Cultural Publication for Puerto Ricans
From the editor . . .
In January we celebrate our very own Puerto Rican poets and
writers. This issue contains a couple of book reviews, which I
hope will get you interested in reading Puerto Rican literature.
You’d be surprise to learn Jane Velez-Mitchell is Puerto Rican! I
love Jane, she is spunky and she is outspoken, and she is one of
us!
One of the earliest Puerto Rican writers was Juan Troche Ponce
de León II, the first native-born Puerto Rican governor. He was
commissioned to write a general description of the West Indies
by the Spanish government. The governor included information
on Taíno culture, particularly their religious ceremonies and
language. He also covered the early exploits of the conquistadors.
These documents were then sent to the National Archives in
Sevilla, Spain, where they were still kept.
YOUR AD
Siempre Boricua, Ivonne Figueroa
FITS HERE
Index
Page
Credits
2
Puerto Rican Poet
2
Visit Puerto Rico/Trivia, Refranes
3
Taínos - Calendar - Don Guillo
4
Diego the Bartender/ Poetry
5
Primos/Cuba
6
Hints with Vélez and Rodello
7
Nuestra Cocina Criolla
8
More recipes
9
Lengua Boricua/Book Review
10
Music Reviews by: Alberto González
10
JAUARY 2011
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 2
Puerto Rican literature evolved from the art of oral story
telling to its present day status.
Written works by the native islanders of Puerto Rico were
prohibited and repressed by the Spanish colonial government.
Only those who were commissioned by the Spanish Crown to
document the chronological history of the island were allowed to
write.
It wasn't until the late 19th century with the arrival of the first
printing press and the founding of the Royal Academy of Belles
Letters that Puerto Rican literature began to flourish. The first
writers to express their political views in regard to Spanish
colonial rule of the island were journalists.
After the United States invaded Puerto Rico during the SpanishAmerican War and the island was ceded to the Americans as a
condition of the Treaty of Paris of 1898, writers and poets began
to express their opposition of the new colonial rule by writing
about patriotic themes.
* Wikipedia
María Arrillaga is a Puerto Rican poet and has been a professor at
the University of Puerto Rico. She taught in the Spanish department
on the Rio Piedras campus. She is a member of PEN's women's
committee and a past secretary. She is the author of several
collections of poetry. She currently lives in New York City and Old
San Juan, Puerto Rico.
According to Matos Paoli, the poetry of Maria Arrillaga participates
in the "demythologizing conventional culture" both in the claiming
of human sexual nature and in its commitment to social justice.
She has contributed to the following journals: Confrontation, Cupey,
Festa Da Palabra, PEN International, and Tercer Milenio.
Dr. Arrillaga was a 1996 fiction finalist at the Institute of Latin
American Writers. In Puerto Rico, she has won awards for poetry,
essays and fiction.
Arrillaga has served as president of the PEN, Puerto Rican Center
and secretary of the Women's Writer Committee of PEN,
International. She is currently working on a book of memoirs
entitled The Guava Orchard, and a poetry collection, Flamingoes in
Manhattan.
* Wikipedia
EL BORICUA is a monthly cultural publication,
established in 1995, that is Puerto Rican owned and
operated. We are NOT sponsored by any club or
organization. Our goal is to present and promote our
"treasure" which is our Cultural Identity - “the Puerto
Rican experience.” EL BORICUA is presented in
English and is dedicated to the descendants of Puerto
Ricans wherever they may be.
CREDITS
©1995-2011
All articles are the property of EL BORICUA or the
property of its authors.
Staff
Ivonne Figueroa - Dallas, TX
Executive Editor & Gen. Mgr.
Javier Figueroa – Dallas, TX
Publisher
Dolores Flores – Dallas, TX
Language Editor
Anna María Vélez de Blas
Recipe Tester
Manuela Rodello
Hints for a Puerto Rican Household
Guillermo ‘Don Guillo’ Andares, PhD
Gardening Tips for Puerto Ricans
Alberto González
Music Reviews
Elena Cintrón Colón
Primos Editor
Diego Matos Dupree
Bartender
Joe Román Santos
Editor
Luisa Yaliz Alaniz Cintrón, MD
Guest Writer
Support Staff
Fernando Alemán Jr - Web Consultant
José Rubén de Castro -Photo Editor
María Yisel Mateo Ortiz -Development
Special Thanks to . . .
Most back issues available
Tayna Miranda
Zayas
of
– in yearly
CDRom
MarkNetGroup.com
George Collazo –PhotosofPuertoRico.com
There are three Puerto Rico's you need to learn
about; the old, the new and the natural. Learn about
our little terruño. Subscribe to EL BORICUA, a
monthly cultural publication for Puerto Ricans.
http://www.elboricua.com/subscribenow.html
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
Addict ation
An Intervention for America
by: Jane Velez-Mitchell
and Sandra Mohr
PAGE 3
People from Aguadilla are known as
aguadillanos. The town was founded in
1775 and is found on the Northwest coast of
the island, bordered by Isabela, Moca,
Aguada, and the Atlantic coast.
Yes, Jane is Puerto Rican - on her
mother’s side! Many of us have
watched Jane on TV. She is the author of
‘Secrets Can be Murder,’ and ‘I Want.’
As a journalist, TV Personality and Best Selling author, and as a person who is
on the forefront of our national culture, Jane has come to the realization that we
are an Addict Nation. In this book Jane often references her own issues with
addictive behavior and goes on an eye-opener explanation of how she sees our
entire culture as having turned hungry for endless acquisitions. She stands as
the voice of reason and passionately details examples of our culture’s addictive
behavior, some of which we never think of as being addictions, but are. Jane
attacks the national trends of addiction to money, to spending, to shopping, to
watching – even stupid senseless shows, we’re addicted to food, to sex, to war,
to power, to violence, even to idolatry. Jane correctly compares us to animals
who need a pack leader, who in a primal level wish to idolize someone, anyone,
as being worthy of our devotion, such as TV and movie stars, unworthy sports
figures, and even contestants in those mindless reality shows.
However, Jane is an agent of change and improvement. Not all is hopeless and
she ends with a positive note that what we need to do is give a good simple
meaning to our lives by living a life with a purpose. Interesting reading,
couldn’t put it down.
LO MAS ATURAL
Contemplando tu piel antillana,
mi corazón danzó con alegría.
Estrañandote Linda caribeña,
sin duda regresaré algún día.
El amor que emites con tu mirada
es la luz de tu pueblo que tea ma.
Por máas lejos que estés de tu tierra
todavía Linda palmas te reclaman.
Veo estrellas bailiando en tus ojos,
y tu cuerpo rodeando de mil amores.
Es tu esencia que celan las mujeres
perfumando cada día con tus flores.
Todas las nubes conocen tu nombre
no hay un solo río que de ti no hable.
Las montañas regan que las visites
consideran tu belleza inolvidable.
Luis Cotto-Vasallo
From: Pasión tropical
Poemas románticos
Speaking Puerto Rican . . .
A julepe is a problem.
Refrán . . .
Yo soy rey en mi reyno.
Trivia
Rafael Hernandez Marin (el jíbarito)
composer and musician was born in
Aguadilla. His most famous and well
known pieces are El Lamento Borincano
and Preciosa.
Guest Articles are always welcomed, just
email to [email protected]
YOUR AD
FITS HERE
BORICUA . . .
is a powerful word.
It is our history,
it is our cultural affirmation,
it is a declaration,
it is a term of endearment,
it is poetic . . .
......
it is us.
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
Areytos were huge celebrations and religious ceremonies
that were held in the batey, often involving neighboring
yucayeques.
Ceremonial dancing was one of the principal activities.
Music and feasting accompanied the ritual dance. The
atmosphere was very animated, lots of movement, lots of
noise and sounds, aside from the musical instruments.
History was recited and sung during the celebrations.
Dressing up for an Areyto meant donning colorful body
paint, parrot feathers, seashell and coral jewelry, gold
nugget earrings and nose jewelry. The caciques and
bohiques wore capes decorated with feathers. Everyone
was naked, women wore naguas but they were short, and
not meant to cover up. Caciques wore shawl like capes
that covered the shoulders but were fairly short.
Areytos celebrated different achievements, rituals, and
social activities, such as the birth of a cacique's child,
marriage ceremonies, death, or a visit by important
guests. The maraca and güiro were played as well as
large drums. Conch shell trumpets and flutes made from
bones or reed were played. Roasted iguana was served
along with cassava bread, yams, and perhaps pineapples.
Corn beer was a favorite during areytos. Aguinaldos
included in the areyto were tribal histories, genealogies,
tales of great conquests and battles. Mock battles and ball
games were held. Areytos often lasted several days.
PAGE 4
January 6
Día de Reyes
January 6,
1751
José Campeche, known as the island's first
painter, was born in San Juan.
January 9,
1933
Robert Garcia, former Congressman and first
Puerto Rican elected to the NYS Senate.
January 10,
1973
Félix"Tito" Trinidad – is born in Fajardo.
January 9,
1899
Doña Felisa Rincón de Gautier - Politician, Cofounder of the Partido Popular Democrático and
mayor of San Juan for 22 years, is born in Ceiba
January 11,
1839
Eugenio María de Hostos y Bonilla, born in
Mayagüez, an educator who became involved in
politics. Hostos became famous throughout all
Latino America for his ideologies, and as a
thinker, critic, journalist, and sociologist.He lived
most of his adult life outside the island. He was a
teacher who founded colleges and universities.
Hostos died in Santo Domingo on August 11,
1903.
January 14,
1508
First school is founded in Caparra
January 15th, Museo del Barrio is established in New York City
1969
- Congratulations!
January 23,
1493
San Juan Bautista is renamed Puerto Rico
January 24,
1522
Iglesia de San José is founded (Oldest church still
in use in the Americas)
Don Guillo, the gardener . . . .
I am Ronni, but officially I am Ronald Regan V de la Rosa.
My family found me in an animal shelter in Puerto Rico and
brought me to live in Dallas. I love Dallas, there is a lot of
food in my dish and all over the house too. I have several
cat beds I can use, but prefer sleeping on the pillow in the
upstairs bed. I live in a house with two dogs, but I’m the
boss of them, and they know it. I left many friends behind
who also need a new home and someone to look after.
http://www.saveasato.org/
Recently I participated in a fund-raiser for our church, where I
was a judge in a Sofrito contest. It was all for fun,
participants were required to bring in 10 jars of their sofrito.
Prizes were awarded for best consistency, best flavor, best
aroma, etc. At the end the jars were sold. Made a bunch of
money. The Grand Prize Sofrito was brought in by a man
who did not own a blender, and chopped everything himself.
It was the best! Congratulations Gonzy!
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 5
Montaña Muse
(Aguadilla part – 1)
The charming breeze of ocean flurry
tossed the ginger locks over her face.
Passion fingers untangled teasing tresses
combing a caramel-tan colored mane.
She heard but could not listen too well
to a suitor’s gallant tales of himself.
But with each passing minute of dialogue
the uncharming prince dug a deeper hole.
Verses of romance surfaces as a theme,
as a much needed change of discussion.
With each exchange of lyric words I saw
ingenious eyes lighting up the darkened sky.
How I wanted to dominate her attention,
inviting her to the whispering waves nearby,
to watch the moon reflect of those eyes
and study how jealous stars react at night.
The most pleasant evening spent yet by me
Since arriving at my Eden island, Boríken;
The briefest night I have ever recorded
Of my personal encounters meeting muses.
Poetry in woman form manifested itself.
Her soft voice was drowned by the surf.
The sea, just a few yards away, was calling,
offering wet passion and a perfumed night.
Dismayed as a third party, an invited guest,
My conversational participation had limits,
Insufficient time to absorb all her comeliness,
A brief rendezvous with intellectual holiness.
Alone, I slipped into a nearby hostel to ponder
And wonder at the echoes of her sweet laughter
It encircled the vicinity of my modest bed.
Her image, I saw over and over in silent awe.
La Parada-21 Coctel Punch
2 cups water
1 cup KOOL-AID Tropical Punch Flavor SugarSweetened Soft Drink Mix
1 cup orange juice
1 bottle (1 liter) carbonated lemon-lime beverage
8 oz Bacardi Gold
Add water to drink mix in a punch bowl, stir until drink
mix is completely dissolved. Stir in orange juice,
carbonated beverage and rum. Serve over ice cubes.
Luis Cotto-Vassallo
From: Love whispers in blue
Romantic poems
* Luis Cotto-Vasallo, was born in New York City to Puerto Rican
parents. Pretty much a self-made man, the poet writes from his
personal experiences. ‘Love whispers in blue’ is his fifth book of
poetry.
* Diego Matos Dupree, born in Bayamón, is a
bartender (tavernero) for a popular cruise line. He
lives on board most of the year and gets to travel the
world.
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 6
Our PRIMOS section journeys through Latin America celebrating our cousins.
Elena Cintrón Colón
Primos Editor
Old Havana . . . At some point, you'll feel that you are stuck in a time zone. Old
Havana has that magical feel, seeing the old American cars from the 50’s racing along
the streets, hemmed in by buildings with Spanish and French architecture, makes Old
Havana special. Any afternoon you can stroll along the Malecon and see lovers sitting
in tight embrace looking at the sea, somehow we wonder if they are dreaming of some
distant land. If you are in the mood to buy local arts and crafts you can visit the open
market. There is also a Horse Carriage Tour thru Havana to give your feet a break.
* Elena, born and raised in Puerto
Rico to Brazilian and Peruvian
parents, lives in Buenos Aires
most of the year. She works for a
large South American firm and
travels throughout Latin America.
Fried Cuban Bread
Fancy garlic toast
¼ cup olive oil (for frying)
3 tps minced garlic
2 tbs minced chives
¼ tsp salt
1 lime
1 loaf French bread sliced into one inch rounds
Fresh Parmesan cheese, grated
Divide the ingredients in half and process half the bread at a time. Heat oil in frying
pan, add garlic, chives, salt and cook for about a minute or so. Add juice of one lime,
stir, then add the bread and toast it on both sides pressing down on the bread to flatten
just a bit. Remove from pan and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat with the remaining
ingredients.
This is served as a side with any meals, breakfast, lunch or and dinner. It is also
served during merienda time, or coffee breaks.
ilo Cruz (born 1960) is an CubanAmerican playwright and pedagogue.
With his award of the 2003 Pulitzer
Prize for Drama for his play, Anna in
the Tropics, he became the first Latino
so honored.
Wikipedia
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 7
Cocina Criolla – Cooking Hints
By: Anna María Vélez de Blas
Patelillos is a term used in Puerto Rico for at least two different
dishes.
There are pastelillos volaos (the ones sold on the beach). These are
made from a flour dough, stuffed with picadillo, guava jelly or
cheese, and sometimes other fancy ingredients such as crab or
lobster, then fried.
Pastelillos, the type sold in reposterias (bakeries) are sweet, and
made using puff pastry. These are often stuffed with guava
preserves or jellies and are sprinkled with powder sugar. Preprepared puff pastry dough is available in most markets now so
making these delicacies is now so much simpler for us. Just open
the package, slice, stuff and bake. We have a recipe for these pastry
pastelillos on our website.
Puff pastry dough is a rich dough made by placing chilled butter
between layers of pastry dough. It is then rolled out, folded into
thirds and allowed to rest. This process is repeated six to eight times,
producing a pastry with many layers of dough and butter.
Commercially prepared puff pastry dough can be used in recipes that
call for homemade puff pastry dough, such as croissants.
It is important to note that Puff Pastry dough and Phyllo dough are
not the same and are not interchangeable.
Puff pastry dough and phyllo dough are very different and, if used
interchangeably, will yield different results. Greek baklava made
from puff pastry instead of phyllo, for example, would not be the
same…whereas an apple turnover made with either dough would be
more acceptable. It's best to become familiar with each dough by
using it for its intended purpose before you begin experimenting.
*Anna is a Recipe Tester for EL BORICUA and is also a
professional Chef, she lives in California with her husband,
Joe and their three children.
Hints for a Puerto Rican Household
by: Manuela Rodello
Calderos is what we use in Puerto Rico to cook
rice and other meals. A caldero is a cast iron
cooking pot, a Dutch oven, with a tight fitting-lid.
They come in a variety of sizes. In some parts of
Puerto Rico, a caldero is called an olla. I am
often asked what the proper way to season a
brand new caldero is.
The first thing to do is remove all the labels
including any gum residue from the labels. Then
I use a metal pot scrubber and powdered cleanser
and scrub, scrub, scrub, the bottom and all the
sides (as well as the outside and including the
lid). Then rinse it out very, very well.
Smear lard or vegetable oil all over the inside, put
it in the oven for about one hour at 325°. Let it
cool down completely and then wipe off the
grease. Store away until needed.
Rinse it before using to remove any bits of dust.
With each use your caldero will become more
shinny and smoother inside. The outside of the
caldero will eventually turn brown and that is
normal.
Calderos last almost forever. I have my
grandmother’s caldero, later it will become my
daughter’s.
Manuela Rodello Blanco, born in Río Piedras, is
a Home Economics Teacher in "orth Carolina.
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 8
Nuestra Cocina Criolla
Shrimp Stew
1 tbsp annatto oil combined with 2 tbsp olive oil
¼ cup basic recaito
3 bay leaves
½ cup alcaparrado
3 ounces smoked ham, cut into small dice
1 cup tomato sauce
1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and
roughly chopped
2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and cleaned
½ cup peas
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
Heat the oil in a soup pot. Add the recaito, bay
leaves, alcaparrado, and ham. Saute over mediumhigh heat for 3 minutes. Add the tomato sauce and
canned tomato. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce
the heat to medium, and add the shrimp and peas.
Cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 5 minutes. Stir
in salt and pepper and cook 2 minutes more.
Mondongo
2 pounds honeycomb tripe, cut into small pieces
4 cups lemon juice combined with 8 cups cold water
3 quarts cold water mixed with 1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon annatto oil
1 tablespoon corn oil
¼ pound smoked ham, diced
½ cup basic Recaito
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup alcaparrado
½ pound yautia, peeled and diced
½ pound yucca, peeled and diced
½ pound calabaza (West Indian pumpkin), peeled and diced
2 green plantains, peeled and sliced
4 bay leaves
½ tablespoon black pepper
salt to taste
1 cup canned garbanzo beans
Serve, garnish with chopped cilantro.
Arroz con Leche
1½ cups water
½ cup rice, rinsed & drained
1 cup of fresh milk
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
Boil the water, add the rice. Cook for 15 minutes
without stirring it. Add the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer for another 15 minutes or so.
It should be a thick soup. Add more milk if too dry,
cook a bit longer if too watery.
Soak the tripe in the lemon water for 30 minutes. Rinse and put in
a large soup pot with the 3 quarts of cold salted water. Bring to a
boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 2-1/2 hours, or
until the tripe is tender. Drain and rinse.
In a clean pot, heat the oils. Add the ham, recaito, tomato sauce,
and alcaparrado. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the
tripe, root vegetables, plantain, bay leaves, and enough cold water
to cover. Add pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and
simmer for 35 minutes, or until the root vegetables are cooked.
Add drained garbanzos and cook another 5 minutes or so.
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 9
Nuestra Cocina Criolla
Carne Mechada
(A)
2 tbs olive oil
3 tablespoons white cooking wine-vinegar
1 tb Adobo
1 tsp dried oregano
(B) 3½ lbs beef eye of round
(C)
1 tp olive oil
¼ lb cooking ham, diced
1/3 tsp ground garlic
½ tsp Adobo
6 pimento-filled olives, diced
(D)
2 tbs olive oil
2 cups cooking wine
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Carne Mechada
(E)
2 carrots, diced
3 medium-sized potatoes, diced
Combine the ingredients in (A). Season the beef with this
mixture. Allow to stand for at least ten minutes.
Use a long kitchen knife to make a deep incision in the meat,
where you will insert the stuffing shortly.
Use a Dutch oven or large pot. Add the teaspoon of oil in (c)
and heat in Medium until hot. Add the remaining ingredients
in (C) and saute for two to three minutes.
Remove the pot from the roast and carefully remove the
sauted ingredients. Allow to cool and then insert by spoonfuls
into the slice in the meat. Do not fill all the way to the edge.
Add the oil in (D) to the pot and set over Medium heat until
hot. Add the meat and sear over the hot oil, turning several
times to sear the whole surface of the meat.
Add the remaining ingredients in (D). Cook over medium
heat, uncovered, until the liquids begin to steam. Bring the
heat to low and cover the pot.
The meat should take about two hours to cook. The time may
vary with the actual size of the beef and local conditions.
Check often to ensure that there is enough liquid in the pot.
When the meat is almost done, add the ingredients in (E).
Cook until the meat and the vegetables are done.
Serve with white or yellow rice.
Pastelillos
Making pastelillos is easy today. Just buy pre-made discos
(Goya). Let them come to room temperature. Separate
each disc, moisten inside edges a bit with water, stuff, fold
over, secure edges with a fork or by folding over (I prefer
using a fork, it’s much faster and ‘no’ the stuffing won’t
spill out - I’ve done this a hundred times over), then fry in
plenty of oil. No, you won’t need to enlarge the discs using
a rolling pin. If the discs are at room temperature they will
stretch a bit on their own anyway.
These can be stuffed with picadillo (should not be watery,
just moist), guava jelly, or queso or both, or anything else
you can think of, such as crab meat. My family prefers
Pastelillos de Queso, I use sliced American cheese, which is
what I always have in la nevera. Half a slice for each
pastelillo, just fold over to make it fit. Have some ready to
fry right now.
JAUARY 2011
EL BORICUA
PAGE 10
Nuestra Música
Tite Curet Alonso
“Alma de Poeta”
(2009)
Raymond Giovanni Ramos Rosario reminds of
ourselves and our loved one and at the same time
causes us to have ‘un ataque de risa’ with his version of
the Puerto Rican vernacular. Lengua Boricua is a work
of art and now apparently there is a Kindle Edition to
boot.
We don’t think of our sayings as funny or strange, but
once we befriend other Latino cultures we learn, hey
not everybody talks like this. Then we have to sit
down and explain what we meant. From then on we
watch what we say.
It is not just a book of the way our ancestors spoke.
Many of the words have carried over generations even
on the mainland. Who doesn’t know what to be bien
embrollao means? My mother likes to say, ‘feliz como
una lombriz.’
Certainly it is not a work of fiction. Reading it put a
big smile on my face. And yes, I use these phrases
myself. If you are a true Boricua these book is about
you, about the way we talk, lo que decimos todos los
días.
The author Raymond Ramos Rosario is very proud of
being Puerto Rican and proud of the peculiarities of our
island speech, our very own colloquialisms, nuestra
lengua de todos los días. This little book has helped
bring out my Boricua pride and from now own I am
going to purposely use more words such as palmetazos,
jendío, chancletas, and more.
In this month’s edition, in which Puerto Rican poets and
writers are honored, Catalino Curet Alonso (1926-2003),
better known as “Tite”, is a name that should be mentioned
and remembered. Born in Guayama, P.R., admired and
respected by everyone in the Latin music industry, this
exceptional songwriter composed as many songs as it can
possibly be imagined, interpreted by basically all of the most
popular singers in the Latin music world. His main topics
were love (mostly boleros) and social justice, telling stories
about awkward or difficult situations that minority groups,
poor and racially discriminated people live. Tite had a
natural ability for collecting mental pictures of real life daily
scenes and expressing them in a song-listener friendly way,
creating an instant hit. His writing style was anywhere
between plain/common language expression and a more
sophisticated poetry.
To give a sample of his out of normal composition legacy,
Tite Curet authored top hits like “Anacaona”, “Mi triste
problema”, “Enfriamiento pasional”, “Juan Albañil”, “Los
entierros de mi gente pobre” (by Cheo Feliciano);
“Barrunto”, “El día de mi suerte”, “Periódico de ayer”,
“Juanito Alimaña” (by Héctor LaVoe); “Lamento de
Concepción”, “Marejada feliz”, “Que me lo den en vida” (by
Roberto Roena); “Plantación adentro” (by Rubén Blades);
“Galera tres” (by Ismael Miranda); “Las caras lindas” (by
Ismael Rivera); “Isadora” (by Celia Cruz); “Pena de amor”
(by Mon Rivera); “La Tirana”, “Puro teatro” (by La Lupe);
and many more.
Based on the song selection, this compilation “Alma de
Poeta” was targeted for music fans of the ‘60s and ‘70s, and
included different music styles and singers, showing the
diversity, influence and impact of his compositions
throughout all Latin America.
Reviewed by: Ivonne Figueroa
-Alberto González lives in Florida and works in Spanish &
ESL education. Graduated from the Inter American
University of Puerto Rico and attended the Music
Conservatory of Puerto Rico-