Federico A. Cordero
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Federico A. Cordero (August 18, 1928 – October 9, 2012) was a classical guitarist, lawyer, and politician.


Early years

Cordero (birth name: Federico Arturo Cordero Salguero) was born in
Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Río Piedras is a populous district of San Juan, and former town and municipality of Puerto Rico, which was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. The district today is composed of various '' barrios'' (these are the primary legal divi ...
, a town which is now part of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Both his parents were instrumental in the formation of Cordero's character. His father taught him sports, especially
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
, at the age of three and his mother taught him how to read and write. They also paid for his first musical lessons. In 1933, the family moved to the city of Carolina where his father served as Mayor and where he was raised. There he received both his primary and secondary education. He received his first guitar from his mother as a gift and his neighbor, the musician Ramon Rivera gave him his first lessons.Popular Culture
/ref> Cordero graduated from high school in 1944 when he was 16 years old and enrolled in 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 ...
. At the age of 19, he earned his bachelor's degree in
Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
. He made his professional debut during his student years with the "Trio Los Romanceros", which included Julito and Felipe Rodriguez.Federico Cordero's CD Collection
After he earned his degree, he went to New York and entered
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
earning his master's degree in
Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...
. Cordero returned to the island and was hired by the Social Sciences Department of his alma mater. In 1950, he was hired by
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
an singer
Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...
to play the guitar in his concerts.


Political career

The Speaker of the House of Representatives Ernesto Ramos Antonini offered Cordero a job in the Office of Legislative Services in the Capitol Building. Later he ran and was elected as an at-large Representative in the House. He held various positions including the chairmanship of the Commerce and Industry Committee. In 1960, Cordero returned to the University of Puerto Rico to study law and won reelection to the House. Among his classmates were future Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ( es, Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico) is the highest court of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority to interpret and decide questions of Puerto Rican law. The Court is analogous to one of the state supreme c ...
Víctor Pons and future Attorney General, Senate president and Governor of Puerto Rico
Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...
. In 1962, after earning his law degree, he resigned his legislative seat and taught law at his alma mater.


First concert

In 1964, Cordero held his first concert at the
Ponce Museum of Art Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Ven al Sur, page 20. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2003. It houses a collection of European a ...
located in the city of Ponce. He also worked as the producer of the television show ''La guitarra y sus temas'' (The guitar and its themes) on WIPR-TV. After the series went off the air, Cordero traveled to
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 ...
, Spain where he continued to take guitar and composition lessons. While in Spain he composed ''Pavana Jibara'' and ''Danza Puertorriqueña'' the first
danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence dan ...
written for a guitar. In 1970, he made his debut outside of Puerto Rico when he held a concert in Aruba. He formed a group called "Quinteto de Federico A. Cordero" with Italian cellist Enrico Orazi, the
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
s of Roberto Alvarez and Francisco Morla and the
viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...
of Jaime Medina. In 1971, ''Guitar Player'' magazine published an article about Cordero, and Great Britain's ''Guitar News'', the official publication of the International Classic Guitar Association, featured Cordero on its cover. That year he also held concerts in various cities of Switzerland. In 1974, he was invited to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
by President Gerald Ford to give a concert. He performed with his group which also included the
pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...
Vanessa Vassallo and the
tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...
Edgardo Hierbolini. In 1975, Cordero was invited to participate in a forum by the president of the Guitar Committee of American String Teachers Association to help create a system to teach guitar playing. That year he went on tour to Germany, Italy, Spain and
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
, United States. In 1983, ''Soundboard'' magazine published his articles "The Interaction Between Manuel Ponce and
Andrés Segovia Andrés Segovia Torres, 1st Marquis of Salobreña (21 February 1893 – 2 June 1987) was a Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist. Many professional classical guitarists were students of Segovia or their students. Segovia's contribution to the m ...
: 1923-1928". In 1987 he became the first Puerto Rican to be named to the board of directors of the Guitar Foundation of America.


Recordings

Among his CDs are the following: * ''Lágrimas en Soledad'' * ''Los Dos Federico: Recuerdos de Borinquen'' (father & son duo) * ''Mi Versión'' * ''The Best of Federico Cordero''


Later years

Cordero lived on a mountaintop in Barrio Barrazas in
Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a city and municipality located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and Trujillo Alto; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over ...
, with his wife Alice Terrill, where he died of natural causes on October 9, 2012, at the age of 84. He had three sons, Federico, Fernando and Rafael, and one granddaughter, Karla Cordero. On October 19, 2012, he was honored posthumously by Carolina Mayor José Aponte Dalmau during the inauguration of the city's Museum of History. A memorial service, presided by Monsignor Efraín Rodríguez, was held on October 20, 2012, at the San Fernando Parish Church in front of the city plaza, honoring Cordero's life, with a standing-room-only crowd of friends, family and Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock in attendance.


See also

* List of Puerto Ricans


Notes


References


External links


Federico Cordero's CD Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cordero, Federico 1928 births 2012 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Puerto Rican guitarists Puerto Rican composers Puerto Rican male composers Puerto Rican music educators People from Río Piedras, Puerto Rico Politicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Members of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico 20th-century American guitarists American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians