Extract
RAFAEL HERNANDEZ Puerto Rico's Soul.
The epitaph on Rafael Hernández's tomb reads: Si yo no hubiera nacido en la tierra que nací, If I hadn't been born in the land of my birth, estuviera arrepentido de no haber nacido allí. I'd have always regretted not being born there.
Those are the first lines of Rafael Hernández's song El Buen Borincano (The Good Puerto Rican.) It was a true blessing for all of us that the author of Lamento Borincano, Preciosa and over 1,000 love songs was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Who else could have portrayed in song the very essence of the Puerto Rican people? It could only be the work of a genuine jibarito, from the Barrio Tamarindo whose musical talent was tenderly nurtured and inspired by his grandmother and dedicated local music teachers. As a child, Rafael was not interested in music. He dreamed of being a train engineer or a cigar maker. He did work for a short time in a local cigar factory, but his grandmother persisted in...See the full content of this document
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