{"id":17769,"date":"2019-12-20T06:01:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T10:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/?p=17769"},"modified":"2024-04-16T12:34:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-16T16:34:22","slug":"bobby-capo-at-30-years-of-his-departure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/2019\/12\/20\/bobby-capo-at-30-years-of-his-departure\/","title":{"rendered":"Bobby Cap\u00f3 at 30 Years of His Departure"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bobby Cap\u00f3<\/a>, the great Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, left us 30 years ago this week, leaving us with a rich legacy in Latin music.<\/p>\n

This short blog is to render homage to whom I hope to dedicate a full-length blog in the near future.<\/p>\n

Bobby Cap\u00f3’s Music Career; Brief Summary<\/h3>\n
\""Siempre
The 1997 Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Christmas special honored Bobby Capo, who had passed 8 years before.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Felix Manuel Rodriguez Cap\u00f3 was born in Coamo, Puerto Rico, and moved as a late teen to New York City, where he made his home. He adopted the name “Bobby”, perhaps because he was baptized as Roberto Manuel. Because Rodriguez is such a common last name, he decided to use his mother’s surname as an artist.<\/p>\n

Bobby Cap\u00f3 found luck early in his career. I like to think that luck = opportunity + preparation<\/em>. Davilita was the singer for the Cuarteto Victoria of Rafael Hernandez. He got sick, and Rafael hired the young Bobby as his substitute.<\/p>\n

Soon after that, he moved to New York, where he made his home. There is joined the Cuarteto Marcano<\/em>, and later also worked with the Cuarteto Caney<\/em> and the Noro Morales Orchestra<\/em>.<\/p>\n

As his fame grew, he found himself working in Cuba with the Sonora Matancera<\/em>. He would later help his countryman Daniel Santos to sing for them as well.<\/p>\n

Bobby Cap\u00f3 the Song Writer<\/h3>\n

Perhaps the most significant legacy Bobby Cap\u00f3 left was his songs. He was a prolific songwriter, with some suggesting he wrote over 2,000 songs!<\/p>\n

Although his favorite genre seemed to be the “Bolero” (remember Cheo Feliciano’s “Juguete<\/em>“), he wrote songs in various genres, from “Aguinaldo” to “Bomba”, and even “Salsa”. On the latter, Ismael Rivera<\/a> was one of his favorite singers, having made famous his songs “Incomprendido<\/em>” and “Dormir Contigo<\/em>” among others.<\/p>\n

But before those, Bobby Cap\u00f3 wrote one of the most emblematic “aguinaldos” still heard every Christmas in Puerto Rico; “De Las Monta\u00f1as Venimos<\/em>“. He also happens to have written one of the most famous “guarachas” of all time in “El Negro Bemb\u00f3n<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Bobby was keen to experiment with mixing genres. His famous “Piel Canela<\/em>” was, what he called, a “Bolero r\u00edtmico<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

Video Honoring Bobby Cap\u00f3<\/h3>\n

The 1997 Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Christmas special “Siempre Piel Canela<\/em>” honored him. The opening video was a collage of his most famous songs mixed into one. I think it is very appropriate to honor the 30th anniversary of his departure.<\/p>\n