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Antonio Cabán Vale, a.k.a. "El Topo" (born November 22, 1942), is a guitarist, singer and composer of Puerto Rican folkloric themes. He is one of the founders of the "new song" movement (Spanish: ''nueva canción'') of the early 1970s.Puerto Rico in the American century: a history since 1898
/ref> His danza ''Verde Luz'' (Green Light) became a popular symbol of national dignity, to the point that it is viewed by many as almost a second national anthem, and has been interpreted by international singers.


Early life

Cabán Vale was born and raised in the town of Moca, which is located in the western part of Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. After he graduated from high school, he moved to
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...
and in 1961, enrolled 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 ...
. During his student years at the university, he became known as "El Topo" and he wrote poems which were published in the university's publication "''Guajana''". In 1966, Cabán Vale earned his bachelor's degree in Arts and Social Sciences.Music of Puerto Rico
/ref>


Musical career

For two years Cabán Vale earned a living as a public school teacher. In the 1970s, he began to set his poems to music and later founded a band which he named "Taone". He was the lead singer of the band, which performed his compositions. His compositions contained simple verses and created a new style of contemporary folkloric music which became popular in Puerto Rico. His musical style includes the use of those musical instruments which are typically Puerto Rican, such as the
cuatro Cuatro is Spanish (and other Romance languages) for the number four. Cuatro may also refer to: * Cuatro (instrument), name for two distinct Latin American instruments, one from Puerto Rico (see Cuatro) and the other from Venezuela (see Cuatro ...
(a Puerto Rican guitar with five double strings) and the güiro. Some of his compositions were popularized in many different versions.


Verde Luz

One of Cabán Vale's most popular compositions was of the
danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence dan ...
genre, titled ''Verde Luz'' (Green Light). ''Verde Luz'' has been interpreted by the late Argentine singer Ginamaría Hidalgo, and Puerto Rican singers
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, Roy Brown,
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, and Dagmar.


Musical Compositions

Among the songs which Cabán recorded are the following: *"''Flor de Amapola''" (Poppy Flower); *"''Qué Bonita Luna''" (What a Beautiful Moon); *"''¿Dónde Vas, María?''" (Where Are You Going, Maria?); *"''Antonia''" (song about Antonia Martínez killed by the police during the 1970 student protest at the University of Puerto Rico); *"''Canciones de Amantes''" (Lovers' Songs); *"''Verde Luz''" (Green Light); *"''La Patria Va''" (The Homeland Counts); *"''Un Metro de Ternura''" (A Meter of Tenderness)


Author

Cabán Vale has published two books of original poems. The first, entitled ''Un Lugar Fuera de Tiempo'' (''A Place from Another Time''), is based on his experiences as a young man in his hometown of Moca; the second, ''Penultima Salida'' (''Next-to-Last Exit''), deals with his personal quest for "truth". In 2001, the 6th International Book Fair, celebrated at the
Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum ( Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest. General info ...
in San Juan, was dedicated to Antonio "El Topo" Cabán Vale.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans *
Puerto Rican Songwriters This is a list of Puerto Rican songwriters. It includes people who were born in Puerto Rico, people who are of Puerto Rican ancestry, and many long-term residents and/or immigrants who have made Puerto Rico their home, and who are recognized for t ...


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caban Vale, Antonio 1942 births Living people People from Moca, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican male composers Puerto Rican guitarists 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters