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

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

's best known composers of

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

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 h ...

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 Naguabo (, ) is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island bordered by the Vieques Passage, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 barrios and N ...

. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old, which meant he had to do 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 (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

( Universidad de Puerto Rico) and received his teaching certificate. Flores then taught for five years, and worked for one year at a sugar mill on the island of

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island, town and municipality of Puerto Rico, and together with Culebra, it is geographically part of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques lies about east of the mainland of Puerto Rico, measuri ...

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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, and was honorably discharged when he was twenty-four years old.Popular Culture
/ref>Peer Music biography
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Trío Borinquen

In 1926, Flores went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

without having 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 called "Trío Galón.” The group’s music differed from “Trío Borinquen,” with the use of faster beats. When Flores began to have problems with the music publishing company, he made the decision to leave the trio. 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, known as "Davilita".

Musical compositions

Flores composed various different works, including: '' 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). Well known performers such as Beny More,

Los Panchos Originally, Trio Los Panchos were a '' trío romántico'' formed in New York City in 1944 by Alfredo Gil, Chucho Navarro, and the Puerto Rican Hernando Avilés. The trio became one of the leading exporters of the bolero and the romantic balla ...

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

, and María Luisa Landín collaborated with Flores in portraying his works. A 1996 television special honoring his work features versions by many Puerto Rican and international artists as well, such as

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer 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 studio albums, seven live ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer and actor. He is the top selling salsa artist of all time. A four-time Grammy Award, eight-time Latin Grammy Award and twenty-nine-tim ...

, Yolandita Monge and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...

Selected discography

* "Despedida", single Nelson Navarro 1967

Later years

Pedro Flores died in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

on July 14, 1979, and is buried in Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery located in

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

Early years

Trío Borinquen

Musical compositions

Selected discography

Later years

See also

References

External links