Puchi Balseiro (born Aurea Mercedes Balseiro; November 1, 1926 in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, from the Basque ''Santurtzi'' which means Saint George) is a barrio or district in the municipality of San Juan. Its population in 2020 was 69,469. It is also the biggest and most populated of all the barrios in the capital city wit ...

– January 11, 2007) was a composer in the filin ("feeling") music genre.

Early years

Puchi Balseiro was born in a district of San Juan called Santurce, and comes from a dynasty of great musicians and composers of different genres. Her grandfather was

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

composer Rafael Balseiro Dávila, also known as ''The King of Waltz''. Also, Balseiro's father Ramón Balseiro Ramos was a prominent Puerto Rican composer of

danzas DHL Global Forwarding, formerly known as DHL Danzas Air & Ocean, is a division of Deutsche Post DHL providing air and ocean freight forwarding services. It also plans and undertakes major logistics projects under the brand name DHL Industrial P ...

and

boleros 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 ...

. She was the first woman in the family to follow their steps in music, yet in different genres:

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 ...

and pop.

Songwriter

She was a natural composer and guitarist. She described her

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

as her best friend, as she used it constantly to compose her songs. Puchi's best-known compositions were "En La Soledad" (In Solitude) and "Tu y mi Canción" (You and my Song). "En la Soledad" was a hit song in the 1970s in the version performed by Puerto Rican singer

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

, although there were previous versions sung by other singers such as

Chucho Avellanet Chucho Avellanet, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spa ...

, Julio Angel, and Flor de Loto. In the 1990s,

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...

had a hit with this song, recorded as duet with the original voice of Tito Rodríguez by the help of digital technology. "Tu y mi Canción" was a hit song in the 1950s in the recording of the Puerto Rican vocal quartet "Los Hispanos"; this song was also recorded in an instrumental version by the "Dimartino/Osland Jazz Orquestra" in 2004.

Other talents

Puchi Balseiro was also a singer, producer,

script Script may refer to: Writing systems * Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire * Script (styles of handwriting) ** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...

writer and host of various radio & television shows. In 1970, Puchi originated, produced, and directed the "Festivales del ''Filin''" (The Feeling Festivals). They were concert events that were presented in different theaters and cruise ships on the island. Many singers of those times were regulars in these spectacles because of their unusual style of interpretation, such as Lucy Fabery, Renee Barrios, Lydia Sosa, and Flor de Loto.

Television

From 1993 to 1994, she produced and hosted her own television show, broadcast by

WIPR-TV WIPR-TV (channel 6) is a non-commercial educational public television station in San Juan, Puerto Rico, owned by the '' Corporación de Puerto Rico para la Difusión Pública'' (English: Puerto Rico Public Broadcasting Corporation). While WIPR- ...

and titled ''Usted y mi Mundo'' (''You and My World''). The set was a re-creation of a beautiful ''chalet'' she owned. It was a very intimate musical show.

Death

On January 14, 2007, she died. The director of the Puerto Rican Culture Institute, Dr. José Luis Vega, stated: "... Puchi Balseiro's incalculable cultural legacy is part of the history of Puerto Rican and Latin American music, and it will serve as a model and good example for future generations of composers ...".

References

External links

Puchi Balseiro – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular , San Juan, Puerto RicoPuchi Balseiro – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular , San Juan, Puerto RicoEl Vocero de Puerto Rico
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balseiro, Puchi 1926 births 2007 deaths People from Santurce, Puerto Rico Musicians from San Juan, Puerto Rico Singers from San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican women composers 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers Puerto Rican guitarists Puerto Rican singer-songwriters