Musician. He was a musician as well as an orchestra leader, composer. He enjoyed plena music from the Caribbean and made his own congas and pleneras, which are handheld drums used to play plena music. He met Ismael Rivera where both of them grew up in the Villa Palmeras neighborhood in Santurce. They joined and played at Fiestas Patronales all over Puerto Rico. He then formed his own orchestra, with trumpet and saxophone players. During the decade of 1950s, Cortijo played in TV shows until his band disbanded in 1962. After living in New York for some time, he came back to the island where composer Tite Curet Alonso helped him produce his comeback album. Rafael Cortijo helped many popular music players in Puerto Rico and helped made the bomba rhythm internationally known. When he died, thousands of fans followed a procession that lasted for two hours until it reached the Villa Palmeras Cemetery in Santurce. The coffin was carried by walking people, while four funeral cars followed them with flowers. The crowd joined in singing "La Borinqueña," the island national anthem, to say their final goodbyes.
Musician. He was a musician as well as an orchestra leader, composer. He enjoyed plena music from the Caribbean and made his own congas and pleneras, which are handheld drums used to play plena music. He met Ismael Rivera where both of them grew up in the Villa Palmeras neighborhood in Santurce. They joined and played at Fiestas Patronales all over Puerto Rico. He then formed his own orchestra, with trumpet and saxophone players. During the decade of 1950s, Cortijo played in TV shows until his band disbanded in 1962. After living in New York for some time, he came back to the island where composer Tite Curet Alonso helped him produce his comeback album. Rafael Cortijo helped many popular music players in Puerto Rico and helped made the bomba rhythm internationally known. When he died, thousands of fans followed a procession that lasted for two hours until it reached the Villa Palmeras Cemetery in Santurce. The coffin was carried by walking people, while four funeral cars followed them with flowers. The crowd joined in singing "La Borinqueña," the island national anthem, to say their final goodbyes.
Bio by: Nélida
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