Pedro Altamiranda Félez (30 November 1935 – 7 March 2024) was a Panamanian singer and composer known for his

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

songs. Altamiranda sang about the culture and politics of Panama using humorous Panamanian

slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-gro ...

. This attracted the attention of crowds, not only of adults but also young people who identified with his songs.

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 million ...

, in his song "''Navidad En Panamá''", mentions Altamiranda as part of Panamanian culture. Altamiranda started writing songs in 1979. Many of his political songs have been controversial, some of them

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

by different governments including the

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

dictatorship. In 1984 the song "''Lecciones''" was censored because it was about the

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

that year. With his

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

songs, he attacked the oppression of

Panamanians Panamanians (Spanish: ''Panameños'') are people identified with Panama, a transcontinental country in Central America (a region within North America) and South America, whose connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For mo ...

. In February 2004, one week before Carnival, Altamiranda released the controversial "''La Doña''", a satire of

Mireya Moscoso Mireya Elisa Moscoso Rodríguez de Arias (born July 1, 1946) is a Panamanian politician who served as the President of Panama from 1999 to 2004. She is the country's first female president. Born into a rural family, Moscoso became active in t ...

. Most of his songs were influenced by

Calypso music Calypso is a style of Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago during the early to the mid-19th century and spread to the rest of the Caribbean Antilles and Venezuela by the mid-20th century. Its rhythms can be traced back to We ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

, and the Carnival Brass and Drum bands of Las Tablas, also known as Murgas. Altamiranda also composed a song about the former President of Panama,

Martín Torrijos Martín Erasto Torrijos Espino (; born July 18, 1963) is a Panamanian politician who was President of Panama from 2004 to 2009. He was fathered out of wedlock by Panamanian military ruler Omar Torrijos, the ''de facto'' head of Panama from 1968 ...

, named "''Catín le dijo a Martín''" (Catin told Martin), which talked about how the President and the Finance Minister supposedly planned the new controversial tax law. Some phrases in Pedro's songs, have become part of the Panamanian culture, among them: *"...Para las Tablas to Rass" *"...Nos Vemos en las Cómicas" *"...Juega Vivo!" *"...Guaro y Campana"

Death

Altamiranda died on 7 March 2024, at the age of 88.Fallece Pedro Altamiranda a los 88 años

References

External links

*
El Buhonero Video

Death

References

External links

See also