Pedro Flores born (March 9, 1894 – July 14, 1979) was one of

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 ...

's best known composers of

ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and

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 ...

Early Years

Flores (birth name: Pedro Juan Flores Córdova) was one of twelve children born into a poor family in the town of

Naguabo, Puerto Rico Naguabo (, ) is a town and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the east coast of the island bordered by the Vieques Passage, north of Humacao; south of Río Grande and Ceiba; and east of Las Piedras. Naguabo is spread over 8 barrios and Na ...

. Flores' father died when he was only nine years old, necessitating that he had to work from a young age. When Flores was sixteen years old, he took a special course 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 ...

(

Universidad de 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 ...

) and received his teachers’ certificate. Flores then taught for five years and worked for one year at a sugar mill om the island of

Vieques Vieques (; ), officially Isla de Vieques, is an island and municipality of Puerto Rico, in the northeastern Caribbean, part of an island grouping sometimes known as the Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, ...

. In 1918, he served in a clerical position in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. He was honorably discharged from the Army when he was twenty-four years old.Popular Culture
/ref>Peer Music biography
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Trío Borinquen

In 1926, Flores went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

without any formal musical education. There, he joined another Puerto Rican composer, Rafael Hernández, in his ''Trío Borinquen''. Even though Flores and Hernández became very good friends, they also became competitors as composers. When Flores wrote "Sin Bandera", Hernández rushed to write '' Preciosa''. In 1930, Flores formed his own trio which he named "Trío Galón", and whose music and had a faster beat than the "Trío Borinquen". Flores had problems with the music publishing company and he consequently abandoned the trio. He moved to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and then lived in

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 Caribb ...

for a short period of time. Flores eventually returned to New York where he reconstituted his former trio. Some of the singers of this new trio were

Myrta Silva Myrta Silva (September 11, 1927 – December 2, 1987) was a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and television producer who was known affectionately as "La Gorda de Oro". She rose to fame in 1949 as the lead vocalist for the Cuban ensemble Sonora ...

, Daniel Santos and Pedro Ortiz Dávila, known as "Davilita".

Musical compositions

Some of the songs written by Flores were:'' Obsesión'', ''Amor Perdido'' (Lost Love), ''Bajo un Palmar'' (Under A Palm Tree), ''Borracho no Vale'' (which may translate to Drunk Doesn't Count or Doesn't Count If You're Drunk), ''Linda'', ''Sin Bandera'' (Without a Flag), ''Despedida'' (Farewell) and ''Perdón'' (I'm Sorry). Among those who have performed his songs are

Beny More Beny or Bény may refer to: Given name * Beny Alagem (born 1953), Israeli-American businessman * Beny Parnes (born 1959), Brazilian economist * Beny Primm (1928–2015), American physician and HIV/AIDS researcher * Beny Steinmetz (born 1956), ...

Los Panchos Originally, Trio Los Panchos are a ''trío romántico'' formed in New York City in 1944 by Alfredo Gil, Chucho Navarro, and Hernando Avilés. The trio became one of the leading exponents of the bolero and the romantic ballad in Latin America. ...

Celia Cruz Úrsula Hilaria Celia de la Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a naturalized Cuban-American singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during ...

, and

María Luisa Landín María Luisa Landín (9 October 1921 – 20 June 2014) was a Mexican singer. She sang bolero, Latin ballad and mariachi styles and was most noted for bolero. She began her career singing as a duo with her sister, but her most memorable works wer ...

. A 1996 television special honoring his work features versions by many Puerto Rican and international artists, such as

Ednita Nazario Edna María Nazario Figueroa (born April 11, 1955) is a Puerto Rican musician, singer, and composer who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age and has released twenty-three (23) studio ...

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gr ...

Yolandita Monge Yolanda Rosa Monge Betancourt (born September 16, 1955), known professionally as Yolandita Monge, is a Puerto Rican singer, actress, and television personality. She has been active in the music business since her teen years and has recorded 27 ...

and

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

Selected discography

* "Despedida", single Nelson Navarro 1967

Later years

Pedro Flores died in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ...

on July 14, 1979, and is buried in

Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery is a colonial-era cemetery located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is the final resting place of many of Puerto Rico's most prominent natives and residents. Construction began in 1863 under ...

located in

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (s ...

Early Years

Trío Borinquen

Musical compositions

Selected discography

Later years

See also

Notes

References

External links