Fèlix Astol i Artés (October 9, 1813 – January 21, 1901) was a Spanish musician and composer from

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

best known for being the co-composer of "

La Borinqueña "" (from the native name of Puerto Rico, ''Borinquen'' or ''Boriquen''), ) is the official anthem of Puerto Rico. After Puerto Rico became known as "The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico" in 1952, the first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, sig ...

", the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

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 ...

Early life

Artés was born in

Reus Reus () is the capital of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague. Nowadays it is kno ...

, in

, region of Spain on October 9, 1813, but he moved to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in 1828 to evading military service. Forced to enlist, he joined the band of one of the battalions based in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Career

Once he graduated, he found employment doing tenor roles in an opera company that made its performances at the

Teatro Tacón Teatro may refer to: * Theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific p ...

. He toured in

by 1840, then returned to Cuba, where he lived. Later he joined the opera company of Stefano Busatti, that finally led him to Puerto Rico in 1860. When the company disappeared he moved to Mayagüez. In Mayagüez he founded a new company of comedies: ''Compañía Dramática Astol'' (''The Astol Drama Company''). Fèlix Astol, was author of several pieces of popular music, but his most famous work was the dance ''Bellísima trigueña'' (''Georgeus brunette''), composed in 1867. Conceived as a love song, it has had several versions throughout Latin America. In Cuba had the title of ''Mi amor'' (''My love''). In Brazil it was named ''Encantadora infancia'' (''Lovely childhood''). In Peru has two versions, one of them is named ''Bellísima peruana'' (''Georgeus Peruvian''). In Haiti is danced and in Venezuela is well known too. But the most popular version is "

", adopted as the official anthem of Puerto Rico. The revolutionary lyrics written by Lola Rodíguez de Tió a year after the composition of the danza, became the popular anthem. It was a time of great turbulence in Puerto Rico, as a nationalist revolution against Spain was sweeping across the political landscape. The lyrics were in keeping with that spirit. However, the lyrics known and sung today are attributed to

Manuel Fernández Juncos Manuel Fernández Juncos (December 11, 1846 – August 18, 1928) was a Spanish-born, Puerto Rican journalist, poet, author and humanitarian who wrote the official lyrics to La Borinqueña, Puerto Rico's official anthem. Early years Fernánde ...

per the request of the new Commonwealth, as Lola's were yet again deemed too revolutionary. He died in Mayagüez on January 21, 1901.

References

Bibliography

* Félix Astol ''Borinquen (La Borinqueña), danza, y aguinaldos populares del folklore de Puerto Rico. Para piano y canto en Espanol é Inglés, con acordes para la guitarra'' New York: Spanish Music Center, 1971 (OCLC 11156873) * Francisco Zamora, Isabel Escabí ''Autógrafo: seres ordinarios con vidas extraordinarias. Guía del maestro'' San Juan: People Television, 1997 * ''Autógrafo : seres ordinarios con vidas extraordinarias. Volumen XIII: La Borinqueña ídeo' San Juan: People Television, Sistema Universitario Ana G. Mndez, 1997 * Monserrate Deliz ''El himno de Puerto Rico; estudio crítico de "La Borinqueña"''

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

: GIDA, 1957

External links

First musical recordings made in Puerto Rico found - Notiséís 360 PR (news site on YouTube)
Translation of the Catalan version of Wikipedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Artes, Felix Astol 1813 births Composers from Catalonia Spanish emigrants to Cuba 1901 deaths National anthem writers