Césario Concepción Martínez, (28 July 1909 – 11 March 1974), was a Puerto Rican musician, big band leader and composer, who brought the music of his native land to the United States, mainly New York City, and Latin American
ballroom dancing
Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...
between the 1940s and early 1970s and to ballrooms all over the world. He popularized the modern
plena
Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico.
Origins
The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...
as a Latin song style.
Concepción was born in
Cayey
Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north of Salinas and Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east of Aibonito and Sal ...
,
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 ...
, and was a prolific composer, writing music based on contemporary Puerto Rican scenes and vistas. He wrote over 100
mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
* Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
* Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...
s, calypsos, boleros and
plenas songs to honor cities such as
San Juan,
Mayagüez,
Ponce,
Yauco
Yauco () is a town and municipality in southern Puerto Rico. Although the downtown is inland, the municipality stretches to a southern coast facing the Caribbean Sea. Yauco is located south of Maricao, Lares and Adjuntas; east of Sabana G ...
,
Plena Criolla (for Caguas), San German,
Pa Mi Pueblo, Cayey his town and Santurce among many others. In addition, he directed his own orchestra non stop for 27 years.
In 1933 together with his family boarded a ship, SS San Juan and migrated to New York City. Here he played as lead trumpet for many big bands, however spent most of his time with Eddie LeBaron and His Orchestra, which played at the Rainbow Room, a landmark, located on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center until it closed in 1942.
Upon his return to Puerto Rico founded, on June 14, 1947, "César Concepción y su Orquesta" and made its first presentation at the New Yorker Hotel, later known as Flamboyan Hotel, via live broadcast from
WIAC radio station.
His orchestra which consisted of 15 musicians was known for decades as the “best and most popular orchestra in Puerto Rico”, which was presented for many years by radio and television legendary personality Mariano Artau. Together with singer Joe Valle the orchestra obtained its highest popularity.
He died in
Río Piedras
Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil.
Rio or Río may also refer to:
Geography Brazil
* Rio de Janeiro
* Rio do Sul, a ...
, Puerto Rico of a heart attack at the age of 64.
Further reading
* Aparicio, Frances R.
"Listening to salsa: gender, Latin popular music, and Puerto Rican cultures" Wesleyan University Press, 1998. . Cf. p. 33
See also
*
List of Puerto Ricans
References
1909 births
1974 deaths
People from Cayey, Puerto Rico
20th-century Puerto Rican musicians
20th-century conductors (music)
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