Americo Boschetti (born April 16, 1951) is a singer, composer and guitarist. Composer of over 500 songs, Boschetti has also transformed many poems into songs by adding music to the lyrics.

Early years

Boschetti was born in Santurce, a section of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. However, he was raised in the town of Corozal where his mother's family came from. There he received his primary and secondary education and at an early age was introduced to the world of music when his mother gave him a guitar as a present. In 1964, he wrote in English his first song influenced by the styles of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

.Americo Boschetti
Haciendo Punto en Otro Son
/ref> In 1968, Boschetti 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 5,3 ...

and became involved in the

Puerto Rican independence movement Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States. A spectrum of pro-autonomy, ...

. He was also involved in the student protests of that era against the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, the presence of the ROTC in the university's campus and other political issues. He started writing songs directed towards social reforms and romantic themes.

Musical style

His compositions were not limited to one particular style, but to a diversified variety of styles which included

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

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 ...

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: ...

, etc. The death of his mother Conchita, in 1970 affected him very much and may be reflected in the songs which he wrote in tribute to women, love and children. In 1973, Boschetti decided to self-exile to avoid the U.S. military draft. The exile, which lasted until 1978, started in Europe, continued in Canada and ended in the United States. While in Europe, Boschetti wrote an operetta based on the drowning of Diego Salcedo by the

Taíno The Taíno were a historic indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the pri ...

Agueybana II, nephew of Taíno Cacique Agüeybaná. The operetta included 36 of Boschetti's songs and was written as a play in 1975 in Stromboli, Italy and made into an operetta in the United States in 1977 in

Mandeville, Louisiana Mandeville is a city in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. Its population was 11,560 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 13,192 at the 2020 United States census. Mandeville is located on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, south of Inters ...

. Boschetti returned to Puerto Rico in 1978, however in 1977 he secretly visited the island to meet with Puerto Rican singer

Danny Rivera Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship. After 12 ye ...

. Rivera agreed to record one of Boschetti's song ''La Guaracha del ruiseñor'', which he included in his album ''Alborada''. Once Boschetti reestablished himself in the island, he co-founded the group "Colindancias". In 1981, Boschetti made his recording debut with the song ''Colindancias'' and went on tour.

Compositions

Among Boschetti's compositions are the following: * Guajira de la Espera * Manuela * Mujer * El Cántico de las Hojas * La Guaracha del Ruiseñor * Mi Tierra Mía * Señorita Sylvia * Canción para los Ninos * La Mujer de las Islas In 1984, he decided to take a vacation (semi-retired) from the world of music. He had written over 500 songs and had also transformed some of the poems from the likes of Jose de Diego, Luis Lloréns Torres,

Julia de Burgos Julia de Burgos García (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953) was a Puerto Rican poet. As an advocate of Puerto Rican independence, she served as Secretary General of the Daughters of Freedom, the women's branch of the Puerto Rican Nationa ...

Juan Antonio Corretjer Juan Antonio Corretjer Montes (March 3, 1908 – January 19, 1985) was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist and pro-independence political activist opposing United States rule in Puerto Rico. Early years Corretjer (birth name: Juan Antonio C ...

and

José Martí José Julián Martí Pérez (; January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) was a Cuban nationalist, poet, philosopher, essayist, journalist, translator, professor, and publisher, who is considered a Cuban national hero because of his role in the libera ...

into songs by adding music to the lyrics. During his vacation his songs were recorded by many artists, among them Haciendo Punto en Otro Son, Katraska, Danny Rivera, Perla del Sur,

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira de ...

, Josy Latorre, and Moliendo Vidrio.

Later years

In 2000, he returned from his retirement and released ''Antología sencilla'' (Simple Anthology), which included 13 new compositions and 11 of his earlier songs. On April 25, 2004 he composed and recorded ''Canción Elegía'', which he dedicated to Carlos Muñiz Varela, a young

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

civil rights advocate who was murdered. Currently Americo Boschetti continues to write, record and perform with his band.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boschetti, Americo 1951 births Living people People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Musicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican people of Corsican descent Puerto Rican guitarists 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers Puerto Rican singer-songwriters Puerto Rican male composers American male singer-songwriters

Early years

Musical style

Compositions

Later years

See also

References