José Cobles (August 4, 1923 – January 4, 2020), better known by his nickname of Puerto Plata, was a Dominican musician. He sang in a style reminiscent of the Dominican guitar tradition of the 1930s and 1940s, when

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 has ...

, merengue, and

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

were all variations of the same Afro-Iberian fusion.

Biography

Plata was born in the resort town of Puerto Plata in August 1923. Under the dictatorship of

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( , ; 24 October 189130 May 1961), nicknamed ''El Jefe'' (, "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He ser ...

, few recordings were made of guitar music in the Dominican republic. Trujillo favored

merengue tipico Merengue can refer to: *Merengue music *Merengue (dance) *Merengue típico, a musical genre of the Dominican Republic *Venezuelan merengue music *An adjective referring to the Real Madrid football club *An adjective referring to Club Universitari ...

, a rural style of merengue played with the accordion. While guitar music was still immensely popular among the poor, it was looked down on by the nation's elite, and few opportunities were given for guitar based groups to record or perform in classy venues. After Trujillo's assassination in 1961, guitar music continued to be stigmatized, but an industry began to coalesce around popular guitar acts who by then were evolving a style which has come to be known as

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music **Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music * Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bachata ...

. Puerto Plata gives one of the few surviving examples of the style of music played in the Trujillo period - before Dominican guitar music evolved into bachata. Compared to modern bachateros, Puerto Plata's style, while strongly Dominican, is closer to that of contemporary Cuban masters like

Trio Matamoros The Trío Matamoros was one of the most popular Cuban trova groups. It was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (8 May 1894 in Santiago de Cuba – 15 April 1971; guitar), Rafael Cueto (14 March 1900 in Santiago de Cuba – 7 August 1991; gu ...

and

Antonio Machin Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

. Puerto Plata's band is made up of some of the Dominican Republic's finest musicians, including virtuoso guitar legends

Edilio Paredes Originally from the small country town of La Galana, near San Francisco de Macoris, Edilio Paredes is one of the most influential figures in the development of the Dominican music tradition of bachata. In a career now spanning over 40 years, Edili ...

and Frank Mendez. Mujer de Cabaret, Puerto Plata first internationally distributed album, was released by

iASO Records Iaso (; el, Ἰασώ, ''Iasō'') or Ieso (; el, Ἰησώ, ''Iēsō'') was the Greek goddess of recuperation from illness. The daughter of Asclepius, she had four sisters: Aceso, Aglæa/Ægle, Hygieia, and Panacea. All five were associated wi ...

in September 2007 to much critical acclaim including glowing reviews in the New York Times and France's Liberation. Puerto Plata's followup, "Casita de Campo", was selected by National Geographic as one of the ten best albums of 2009. Puerto Plata performed at festivals and performing arts centers throughout the United States and Canada, including Montreal Jazz Festival, Seattle's

Meany Hall Meany Hall has been the name of two buildings on the University of Washington Campus. The current Meany Hall is considered one of the region's premier performance facilities, highly acclaimed by artists and audience members alike for its outstandin ...

World Music Festival Chicago The World Music Festival Chicago is an annual musical event held in Chicago, Illinois, since 1999. It is organized by the City of Chicago. The festival takes place in September, usually runs 5–10 days, and has featured musicians from over 75 ...

, and Madison World Music Festival, Globalquerque in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

, NM. He died in January 2020 at the age of 96.Jose "Puerto Plata" Cobles obituary
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References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plata, Puerto 1923 births 2020 deaths Bachata guitarists 20th-century Dominican Republic male singers