Francisco Antonio Lora Cabrera (1858 in Maizal, Santiago
– 1971 in
Bisonó (Navarrete)) popularly known as Ñico Lora was a folk musician from the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
. He is considered one of the fathers of
merengue.
[ - '' El padre del merengue no serÃa Juan Bautista Alfonseca, sino Ñico Lora'']
Early life
His grandfather, Félix Lunnaux, was a soldier that came with
Charles Leclerc
Charles Marc Hervé Perceval Leclerc (; born 16 October 1997) is a Monégasque racing driver, currently racing in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari. He won the GP3 Series championship in 2016 and the FIA Formula 2 Championship in .
Leclerc ma ...
’s
expedition in 1802. Was great-uncle of Francisco Antonio Lora Ramirez.
When he was a child, he learned how to play the
button accordion
A button accordion is a type of accordion on which the melody-side keyboard consists of a series of buttons. This differs from the piano accordion, which has piano-style keys. Erich von Hornbostel and Curt Sachs categorize it as a free reed aerop ...
.
Career
Though he was not educated in
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
, he reached a high level of success for his endeavors. His most important songs were San Antonio, Tingo Talango, Eres La Mujer Más Bella, Pedrito Chávez and San Francisco. These songs still stand in time as an essential part of the musical roots of the
Dominican people.
He was a great supplier of anonymous melodies that are kept like a cultural good of the Dominican nation.
Celebridades de Santiago
2009/11/02
Death and legacy
Ñico Lora died on April 9, 1971 in the town of Bisonó (Navarrete), where there is a plaza called "La Plaza de la Cultura Ñico Lora" which was built in 1997 to honor his achievements and contributions to Dominican music.
Sources
Further reading
* "Los cien músicos del siglo", (published in 2000 by "Cañabrava", in Santo Domingo and written by "Antonio Gómez Sotolongo" ) in Spanish.
Biografia de Ñico Lora
1858 births
1971 deaths
19th-century accordionists
20th-century accordionists
Dominican Republic musicians
Merengue musicians
People from Santiago Province (Dominican Republic)
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