Pedro Flores born (March 9, 1894 – July 14, 1979) was one of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

's best known composers of

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and

bolero 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 ha ...

Early Years

Flores (birth name: Pedro Juan Flores Córdova) was one of twelve children born into a poor family in the town of Naguabo, Puerto Rico. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old, necessitating that he had to work from a young age. When Flores was sixteen years old, he took a special course at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...

(

Universidad de Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

) and received his teachers’ certificate. Flores then taught for five years and worked for one year at a sugar mill om the island of

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ...

. In 1918, he served in a clerical position in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He was honorably discharged from the Army when he was twenty-four years old.Popular Culture
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Trío Borinquen

In 1926, Flores went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

without any formal musical education. There, he joined another Puerto Rican composer, Rafael Hernández, in his ''Trío Borinquen''. Even though Flores and Hernández became very good friends, they also became competitors as composers. When Flores wrote "Sin Bandera", Hernández rushed to write '' Preciosa''. In 1930, Flores formed his own trio which he named "Trío Galón", and whose music and had a faster beat than the "Trío Borinquen". Flores had problems with the music publishing company and he consequently abandoned the trio. He moved to

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

and then lived in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

for a short period of time. Flores eventually returned to New York where he reconstituted his former trio. Some of the singers of this new trio were Myrta Silva, Daniel Santos and

Pedro Ortiz Dávila Pedro Ortiz Dávila (May 21, 1912 – July 8, 1986), better known as Davilita, was a popular Puerto Rican singer of boleros and patriotic songs. He was the first artist to record the Rafael Hernández standard "Lamento Borincano". Life and ca ...

, known as "Davilita".

Musical compositions

Some of the songs written by Flores were:'' Obsesión'', ''Amor Perdido'' (Lost Love), ''Bajo un Palmar'' (Under A Palm Tree), ''Borracho no Vale'' (which may translate to Drunk Doesn't Count or Doesn't Count If You're Drunk), ''Linda'', ''Sin Bandera'' (Without a Flag), ''Despedida'' (Farewell) and ''Perdón'' (I'm Sorry). Among those who have performed his songs are Beny More, Los Panchos,

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

, and María Luisa Landín. A 1996 television special honoring his work features versions by many Puerto Rican and international artists, such as

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican musician, singer, and composer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three (23) studi ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin G ...

, Yolandita Monge and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

Selected discography

* "Despedida", single Nelson Navarro 1967

Later years

Pedro Flores died in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ju ...

on July 14, 1979, and is buried in

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under ...

located in

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (s ...

Early Years

Trío Borinquen

Musical compositions

Selected discography

Later years

See also

Notes

References

External links