Gilberto Monroig (July 2, 1930 – May 3, 1996) was a Puerto Rican

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

, and singer of

boleros Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

Early years

Monroig's parents moved from the countryside to the city in search of a better way of life and settled in the Villa Palmera sector of Santurce, a section of San Juan where the musical sounds of the bomba and plena and of the

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

filled the air. Monroig was born in Santurce, where he received his primary and secondary education. He later moved to New York City and earned his high school equivalent diploma. When he was ten years old, he would imitate his favorite singer, the famed Argentine singer of tangos,

Carlos Gardel Carlos Gardel (born Charles Romuald Gardès; 11 December 1890 – 24 June 1935) was a French-born Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, and the most prominent figure in the history of tango. He was one of the most influential inter ...

. His father once gave his brother, Luis a guitar which Monroig learned to play better than his brother - often resulting in a fight over the instrument. Finally, Monroig's father decided that it would be best if he bought him one also.

Professional singer

In 1943, at age 13, he joined a group called "Taone" and a year later joined another band by the name of "Maravilla". However, it was when the "Super Orchestra Tropicana" directed by Rafael Elvira hired him that he received his first big break as a professional singer. In 1948, Pete Rivera invited Monroig to sing for his band in the inauguration of the Caribe Hilton Hotel in San Juan. Pete soon left the island and headed for New York, where he organized another band. He joined Pete in New York, where he began to gain fame as a bolero singer. During his years in New York, he played for various bands and traveled to the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

. In the early 1950s, Monroig joined

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

's Orchestra and recorded various songs. Among them was "''Malcriada''" which became a "hit". A favorite in New York played on Radio WADO was the hit single of a sexy bolero "Que Chevere" by singer/composer Miguel Poventud. He would return to Puerto Rico to make many other instant "hits" with the songs "''Mujer''" (Women) and "''Duerme, Margarita''" (Sleep, Margarita). He also recorded some songs by composers Pedro Flores and Rafael Hernández. He won his first Gold Record Award in 1959, with "''Egoismo''".

Later years

Monroig returned to New York and in 1964, he won his second Gold Record Award with "''Simplemente Una Ilusión''" (Simply an Illusion). He sang for various bands including Tito Puente's and traveled throughout the United States and Latin-America. He also made many television presentations in Puerto Rico.

Personal life and death

Monroig had two sons and one daughter from two marriages. They are Gilberto Jr., Glenn (who followed in his footsteps) and Linda. Gilberto Monroig died on May 3, 1996, in Santurce. He was laid to rest in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery, close to the remains of singers Pedro Flores, Daniel Santos and Rafael Hernández.

Legacy

Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming an avenue in San Juan after him. In 2002, he was inducted into the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the a ...

References