Luis Felipe Rodríguez, better known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, (May 8, 1926 – May 26, 1999) born in

Caguas, Puerto Rico Caguas (, ) is a Caguas barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Cordillera Central (Puer ...

, was a singer of

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 h ...

s. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records. Many of Rodríguez's recordings are often considered to be classics in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

Early years

Rodríguez was born in the Savarona section of Caguas, the son of a

sharecropper Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

and a

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

. He had a rough childhood; his father died before he was born. In 1930, his mother Carmen moved to Santurce and settled in Barrio Obrero, a working class district of San Juan. There, Rodríguez went to school and practiced his singing skills during his free time. Julito Rodríguez (no relation to Felipe), another bolero singer, heard Rodriguez sing and invited him to form a singing duo; they later they formed a trio called "Los Romanceros" (The Romanceers) and he first took part in a radio program, the popular amateur showcase ''"Tribuna del Arte"'', hosted and produced by Rafael Quiñones Vidal.

"La Voz" (The Voice)

In 1950, Rodríguez left the trio and tried different projects, such as forming or joining other trios (particularly the ''Trío Los Antares''), duos (he formed the "Dúo Pérez-Rodríguez" with his then wife, and continued his professional relationship with her long after their divorce) and singing solo. He was given the nickname, "La Voz" (The Voice), a name which was to stay with him for the rest of his life, by Puerto Rican radio announcer Mariano Artau.

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

's stage name was based on Rodríguez's nickname.

United States tour

Rodríguez went on tour in the United States where he broke the attendance and ticket records previously set for the

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

audience by

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

singer Libertad Lamarque. In 1954, Rodríguez met Pedro Ortíz Davila ("Davilita") and formed a very successful duo performing in such places as the Teatro Puerto Rico. Even though "Davilita"'s voice was not as sharp as it was when he was younger, they were able to have many hits together, particularly the Pedro Flores song ''"La Rosa Blanca"'' (The White Rose). In the 1960s, they, together with Rafael Cortijo and El Gran Combo confronted the new wave of rock music which was invading the island head-on. In 1965, Rodríguez became the first Puerto Rican to sing the Puerto Rican national anthem, La Borinqueña, at a sporting event, celebrated at the

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

in New York City, where fellow Puerto Rican José "Chegui" Torres won the World Light Heavyweight

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

title in a fight against Willie Pastrano which was televised coast to coast in the United States. Rodríguez had himself been an amateur boxer in his youth as well as an occasional referee at amateur boxing matches, and was a scout for young boxing talent.

Radio Show

Back in Puerto Rico, Rodríguez started his own radio program at radio station WITA-AM in San Juan, called ''"Éste es tu disco"'' (This is your record). In 1973, Rodríguez and Davilita paired again to record "''Canciones de Pedro Flores''" and in 1974, "''Canciones de Rafael Hernández''". Also in 1974, Felipe Rodríguez, Davilita and Pellin Rodríguez (no relation to Felipe) recorded a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

which also are considered as Christmas classics in Puerto Rico. These were "''La Protesta de los Reyes''" (The Protest of the Wisemen), "''Parranda parrandera''" ( Parrandous Parranda) and "''Navidad''" (

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

Recordings

In 1952, he recorded the following songs: *"''La Ultima Copa''" (The Last Drink)

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

recorded as a bolero (and one of several such crossover hits Rodríguez and others recorded), *"''Golondrina Viajera''" (Traveling Swallow), *"''Los Reyes no Llegaron''" (The

Three Wise Men 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...

did not Arrive), a poignant Christmas song written by Esteban Taronjí, and *"''Esta Navidad''" (This Christmas) all of which became hits and are now considered as classics in Puerto Rico.

Later years

In the 1980s, Rodríguez continued to record and had hits with "''Por Primera Vez''" (1983) (For the First Time) and "''Juntos otra Vez''" (1986) (Together Again). In 1987, he was able to realize one of his dreams when he performed at the Luis A. Ferre Center for Performing Arts in San Juan. In the 1990s, Rodríguez continued to be active as a singer and when not singing he would be at the recording studio producing. Later in the 1990s, he suffered a fall from a step ladder in his home in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...

, which hurt his back. Eventually the fall complicated with a

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

and contributed to his death. Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez died on May 26, 1999, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

. He was buried at Cementerio Parque de Luz in his hometown of Caguas, Puerto Rico. Rodriguez was also, along with Rickin Sánchez and three others, one of the original organizers of the Puerto Rican boxing Commission.

Legacy

The city of Caguas named the main auditorium of its own Center for Performing Arts as the Felipe Rodríguez Hall. A book written by music historian Pedro Malavet Vega "''La Vellonera esta directa''" has been written, chiefly about Rodríguez's life, and using his career trajectory as a backdrop and timetable for many other cultural and sociological events that occurred in Puerto Rico between the late 1940s and early 1960s.