{"id":6925,"date":"2016-01-20T07:08:51","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T11:08:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/?p=6925"},"modified":"2021-07-26T16:16:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T20:16:27","slug":"cortijo-and-calypso","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinomusiccafe.com\/2016\/01\/20\/cortijo-and-calypso\/","title":{"rendered":"Cortijo and Calypso"},"content":{"rendered":"
This week I read an excellent newspaper article about the involvement of legendary bandleader Rafael Cortijo<\/a> with Calypso music.<\/p>\n In this blog I’ll provide a historical framework to it.<\/p>\n “Cortijo, el Calypso y la Conexion Antillana” is the title of the article written by Ana Teresa Toro for Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish; see link below). The article explores Cortijo’s musical curiosity with this rhythm, and how his connection with people and musicians from the Lesser Antilles influenced the use of it on his band.<\/p>\n Toro explains how Calypso was born in the mid-19th century in the island of Trinidad, and from there its popularity spread through the rest of the Caribbean. It made it all the way up to Vieques, but for some reason, it never got a firm foothold in the main island of Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n Although Ana Teresa Toro explains that the Puerto Rican island of Vieques did adopt Calypso and is a part of its idiosyncrasy, I’ll add that the same is true of the island of Culebra, Puerto Rico. The Banco Popular Christmas Special of 2014 “Que Lindo es Puerto Rico” highlighted this with an explanation of how it got to Culebra and Vieques, and a song performed as if it were the festivities of New Year’s eve. (you can read my blog on that Christmas special HERE<\/a>)<\/p>\nCortijo, the Calypso, and the Antillean Connection<\/h3>\n
Calypso, a Historical Context<\/h3>\n