(S. B. 445) (No. 134) (Approved September 27, 2001) AN ACT To establish the commemoration and provide for the celebration of the birthday and musical artistic work of Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor, on October 5 of each year in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. STATEMENT OF MOTIVES On October 5, 1931, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, Ismael Rivera was born to Mr. Luis Rivera Esquilín and Mrs. Margarita Rivera García. On May 13, 1987, Ismael Rivera passes away, also in Santurce, the closure to an industrious life project and an inspired musical and artistic body of work. Together with his brothers Carlos, Diego and Tommy and sisters Laura and Ivelisse, he is one among the children who constitute the family raised with particular care and diligence by their mother, better known as doña Margot. Ismael Rivera attended the schools of his neighborhood Pedro G. Goyco and Rafael Labra. He learns masonry at the Vocational School. From an early age, he contributes in supporting his family by shining shoes, plying his trade in construction, and as a member and singer in musical groups. He made his professional debut with Moncho Mulley s Conjunto Monterrey, as a percussionist. He worked with saxophonist and composer Lito Peña s Orquesta Panamericana. He turns into hits a plena selection
composed by Rafael Cepeda called El bombón de Elena and another plena selection called El charlatán. During the fifties, he joined musical forces with his middle school buddy, friend and the godfather of his child, Rafael Cortijo, an ingenuous drummer and composer. The major hits era of Rafael Cortijo y su Combo features other selections, such as Maquinolandera, El negro bembón, Quítate de la vía, Perico, A bailar mi bomba, El chivo de la campana, and Perfume de rosas, among others. In 1956, Benny Moré, while visiting Puerto Rico, and impressed with the improvisation capabilities and style of Ismael Rivera and with his way of interpreting the clave, dubbed him El Sonero Mayor. Throughout his successful career in popular music he was also known as Maelo and remembered by his particular expression, Ecua-Jei. After the years of his successful artistic life have been left behind, Ismael found himself subjected to adversities that lead to experiences from which no human being is exempted, such as unlawfulness, prison, unemployment and deprivation. All these circumstances which marked him, he transformed into song, to friendship, love, authentic spirituality, spontaneous ingenuity, and solidarity with the disenfranchised. He returned to the country, but given the situation in the Island, he settled in New York and resumed his artistic activities, with a new group under Cortijo. Later on, he made his debut with his own musical group, Los Cachimbos, with which he continued recording career. On June 25, 1974, the original Rafael Cortijo s combo united to offer an historic concert at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, of which the works performed were recorded into an album entitled Juntos otra vez.
The 80 s marked the last stage of the life of Ismael Rivera, unsettled shaken by his ailing throat, which made it impossible for him to sing, and the death of his friend Rafael Cortijo on October 3, 1982; by this time, he also participated in community projects, such as the creation of an Historical Museum at the former municipal hospital in Santurce, which showcases the contributions of blacks to the cultural life of Puerto Rico. The demise of Ismael Rivera, on May 13, 1987, reasserted his legacy to the Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Latin American artistic and cultural patrimonies and his transcendence as a singer and interpreter, a virtuoso of the Afroantillean music, with a brilliant style and unprecedented creativity, which sustain his well-deserved designation as El Sonero Mayor or El Poeta del Pueblo [lit.: the Poet of the People]. The currency of his valuable popular music body of work and identity-reaffirming musical message are the subject of repeated recognition in works from, among others, Mexican author Rafael Figueroa Hernández, in Ismael Rivera: El sonero mayor (1993); Colombian author César Pagano, in Ismael Rivera: El sonero mayor (1993); journalist Xiomara Acuña, in Ismael Ecuajey al Museo, Claridad (October 10-16, 1997); Puerto Rican professor Angel G. Quintero Rivera, in Salsa, sabor y control!, sociología de la música tropical (1998); Francisco Cabanillas, Professor of the Romance Languages Department of Bowling Green State University, Ohio, in Dos libros sobre Maelo, Diálogo (January 1998); and Venezuelan author Lil Rodríguez, in Bailando en casa del trompo (1999). His artistic versatility is also made evident by his creations, which feature, among other titles: Besitos de coco, Simbad el marino, Mi libertad eres tú, Bomba ae, Aquí estoy, Ya llegué, Los vaqueros, Borinquen, Lejos de ti, Amor salvaje, and Lo que dice la luna.
In deference to the creative and interpretive ingenuity of Ismael Rivera, made manifest in his Puerto Rican, Caribbean and Latin American song, which transmits the popular philosophy and wisdom, as well as in fair reciprocity, it is pertinent for the People of Puerto Rico to come together in joy to celebrate, in well deserved recognition and gratitude, the life and artistic and musical work of Ismael Rivera. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF PUERTO RICO: Section 1. To establish the commemoration and provide for the celebration of the birthday and musical artistic work of Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor, on October 5 of each year in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and to call for support to the activities to be held by Fundación Ismael Rivera and its House Museum, in Calma Street. Section 2. The Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall issue a proclamation germane to the occasion and shall urge the participation of public, municipal and private entities, as well as of the People of Puerto Rico, in coordinating the efforts and activities of Fundación Ismael Rivera and its House Museum, in Calma Street. The Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation, the University of Puerto Rico, the Department of Education, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, and the Municipality of San Juan, are specifically authorized, as well as other public and municipal entities, to coordinate and hold activities pursuant to the mandate established in this Act. Section 3. This Act shall take effect immediately after its approval.
CERTIFICATION I hereby certify to the Secretary of State that the following Act No. 134 (S.B. 445) of the 1 st Session of the 14 th Legislature of Puerto Rico: AN ACT to establish the commemoration and provide for the celebration of the birthday and musical artistic work of Ismael Rivera, El Sonero Mayor, on October 5 of each year in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has been translated from Spanish to English and that the English version is correct. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, today 23 rd of November of 2004. Elba Rosa Rodríguez-Fuentes Director