(S.B. 1814) (No. 190) (Approved August 24, 2000) AN ACT To commemorate and celebrate on the 8 th of May of each year in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the birth and artistic and musical legacy of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez. STATEMENT OF MOTIVES Luis Felipe Rodríguez Quiñones, known artistically as Felipe La Voz Rodríguez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico on May 8, 1926, to Carmen Quiñones and Luis Felipe Rodríguez and passed away on May 26, 1999. He is survived by his widow, Carmen Muñoz and his children. Felipe La Voz Rodríguez began his musical career in the forties by participating in the Rafael Quiñones Vidal amateur program. He demonstrates and shares his talent with Los Aviadores, a vocal duo, and the trios Los Romanceros, Los Carpios and Los Antares, as well as the duos Pérez-Rodríguez and Felipe-Davilita. The intense, consistent and successful accomplishments of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez in his music confirms his own particular means of expressing himself as the singer most closely identified with the feelings of his people to whom he dedicates his art as a moral and artistic commitment.
One of the songs interpreted by Felipe La Voz Rodríguez which with transcendental impact expresses the music of the people through a singular style that makes manifest the feelings and emotions of the people and that synthesizes the experiences of all men and women is La última copa, the musical highlight of the year 1952. Together with this particular number other of his interpretations that remain in the individual and collective consciousness of our people and the peoples of neighboring countries are: Ahora te toca a ti, Al paso, Amor robado, Bajo palabra, Boda gris, Borracho por amor, Cataclismo, Copa de ajenjo, Copas y amigos, Corazón herido, China hereje, Debo y pagaré, Déjame libre, Desde que te fuiste, Desmayo, Desvelo de amor, El bardo, El lujo de quererte, Golondrina viajera, Gota a gota, Imposible, Inolvidable, Judas, La cama vacía, La canción de mis recuerdos, Los Reyes no llegaron, Más daño me hizo tu amor, Mi angustia de bohemio, Niebla del riachuelo, No te perdono más, Noche de Reyes, Pobre gaviota, Por eso bebo, Quiero beber, Rebeldía, Sentimiento gaucho, Tango azul, Tengo miedo, Un poco tarde, Viejo carrusel, Visiones and Ya no estoy rebelde. The historical importance of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez is reaffirmed through the testimony and critical assessment of Atty. Pedro Malavet in his work La vellonera está directa: Felipe La Voz Rodríguez y los años 50. (Third edition, revised, 1987) as well as in Felipe Rodríguez: ubicación histórica y musical (La Canción Popular, January-June, 1986). Both essays highlight the transcendence of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez and the jukebox from the decade of the 40 s, in Puerto Rico as well as abroad and of popular music as a significant element in the individual and collective lives of our people.
Likewise, this appraisal of the extraordinary contribution of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez is reiterated in the historical-musical essay by collector, scholar and historian Pablo Marcial Ortiz Ramos, A tres voces y guitarras: Los trios en Puerto Rico. Similarly, we have the testimonial of Senate Resolution 1656 approved on May 11, 1995, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez as musician and as an homage of acknowledgement and an expression of gratitude for his life-long dedication to his extraordinary artistic endeavor.
CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 190 (S.B. 1814) of the 7 th Session of the 13 th Legislature of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to commemorate and celebrate on the 8 th of May of each year in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico the birth and artistic and musical legacy of Felipe La Voz Rodríguez, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 29 th of March of 2004. Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director