Puchi Balseiro (born Aurea Mercedes Balseiro; November 1, 1926, in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...

– January 11, 2007) was a composer in the filin ("feeling") music genre.

Early years

Puchi Balseiro was born in a district of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

called Santurce, and comes from a dynasty of great musicians and composers of different genres. Her grandfather was

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

composer

Rafael Balseiro Dávila Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California Fiction * ''Rafael'' (TV series), a Mexican telenovela * ''Rafaël'' (film), a 2018 Dutch film People * Rafael (footballer, born 1978) ( ...

, also known as ''The King of Waltz''. Also, Balseiro's father Ramón Balseiro Ramos was a prominent Puerto Rican composer of

danzas DHL Global Forwarding, formerly known as DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, is a division of Deutsche Post DHL providing air and ocean freight forwarding services. It also plans and undertakes major logistics projects under the brand name DHL Industrial P ...

and

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 ...

. She was the first woman in the family to follow their steps in music, yet in different genres:

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 ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

Songwriter

She was a natural

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

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 ...

. She described her

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

as her best friend, as she used it constantly to compose her songs. Puchi's best-known compositions were "En La Soledad" (In Solitude) and "Tu y mi Canción" (You and my Song). "En la Soledad" was a hit song in the 1970s in the version performed by Puerto Rican singer

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

, although there were previous versions sung by other singers such as

Chucho Avellanet Armando Hipólito Avellanet González, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish-Catalan descent. Avellanet was involved with the Nueva ola movement in the 1960s. See also * List of Puerto Ricans This is a ...

, Julio Angel, and Flor de Loto. In the 1990s,

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés (), nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three mi ...

had a hit with this song, recorded as duet with the original voice of Tito Rodríguez by the help of digital technology. "Tu y mi Canción" was a hit song in the 1950s in the recording of the Puerto Rican vocal quartet "Los Hispanos"; this song was also recorded in an instrumental version by the "Dimartino/Osland Jazz Orquestra" in 2004.

Other talents

Puchi Balseiro was also a singer, producer,

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

writer and host of various radio & television shows. In 1970, Puchi originated, produced, and directed the "Festivales del ''Filin''" (The Feeling Festivals). They were concert events that were presented in different theaters and cruise ships on the island. Many singers of those times were regulars in these spectacles because of their unusual style of interpretation, such as Lucy Fabery, Renee Barrios, Lydia Sosa, and Flor de Loto.

Television

From 1993 to 1994, she produced and hosted her own television show, broadcast by

WIPR-TV WIPR-TV (channel 6) is a non-commercial educational public television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, owned by the '' Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública'' (English: Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation). Most of t ...

and titled ''Usted y mi Mundo'' (''You and My World''). The set was a re-creation of a beautiful ''chalet'' she owned. It was a very intimate musical show.

Death

She died on January 14, 2007, in

Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras () (Spanish language, Spanish for ''stones river'') is a highly urbanized commercial and residential district in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the capital Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of Puerto Rico. Adjacent to th ...

. The director of the Puerto Rican Culture Institute, Dr. José Luis Vega, stated: "... Puchi Balseiro's incalculable cultural legacy is part of the history of Puerto Rican and Latin American music, and it will serve as a model and good example for future generations of composers ...".

References

External links

Puchi Balseiro – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular , San Juan, Puerto RicoPuchi Balseiro – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular , San Juan, Puerto RicoEl Vocero de Puerto Rico
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balseiro, Puchi 1926 births 2007 deaths Musicians from Santurce, Puerto Rico Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican women composers 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers Puerto Rican guitarists Puerto Rican women singer-songwriters