Gloria González (born April 6, 1944) is a Puerto Rican composer with an extensive repertoire of pop and salsa songs.

Early years and education

Gloria González Pérez was born on April 6 in

Santurce, Puerto Rico Santurce (, meaning Saint George from Basque language, Basque ''Santurtzi'') is the largest and most populated Barrios of San Juan, Puerto Rico, barrio of the Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan, the cap ...

. She is the only daughter of Jorge González and Blanca Pérez, both from the town of

Arecibo, Puerto Rico Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

. She attended elementary school at Manuel Padre Rufo School in

. Her secondary studies were done at República Del Perú Jr. High, also in Santurce. In 1958, she moved with her father to New York City, where she attended P.S. 71 in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

.Biography, Photos, Lyrics (SalsaClasica.com)
/ref> Gloria later returned to Puerto Rico and got married. In 1967, she decided to continue her studies and graduated from Ramírez College as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

secretary.

Career

In 1970, she started working with the Justice Department, but due to a back injury, she retired in 1983. During this period, González became interested in

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

and decided to study at the Music Conservatory; entirely dedicating herself to the composition of musical themes. She has written well over 300 songs, within the

Salsa music Salsa music is a style of Latin American music, combining elements of Cuban and Puerto Rican influences. Because most of the basic musical components predate the labeling of salsa, there have been many controversies regarding its origin. Most ...

genre. Among the artists who have interpreted of her romantic line of songs are Marco Antonio Muñiz,

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 mi ...

, El Gran Combo, Tony Vega,

Frankie Ruiz José Antonio Torresola Ruiz, better known as Frankie Ruiz (March 10, 1958 – August 9, 1998), was a Puerto Rican singer. He was a major figure in the salsa romántica subgenre that was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. During his youth, ...

, Bobby Valentín, Andy Montañez, Carmita Jiménez, Nano Cabrera, Los Hispanos, and

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira ...

. One of her most famous songs, "Así Es Mi Tierra", was performed by the septet Sol y Canto and accompanied by the Springfield Symphony Orchestra on February 28, 2004.

Awards and recognition

Gloria González has received awards and recognitions from institutions such as the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture (11/28/1986).Gloria González
/ref> Broadway Awards (1988), Paoli Award, awards from the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

of Carolina and

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...

(4/8/2002), as well as recognitions in theaters, TV shows in Puerto Rico,

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In June 1991, she was honored with the dedication of the annually National Day of Salsa,Día Nacional del la Salsa - Photo
/ref> currently celebrated on the third Sunday in the month of March in Puerto Rico. Bobby Valentín was also honored that day. In 2007, she was honored at the "Asociación Borinqueña" of Central Florida, in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

for her career as a composer.

Personal life

González has four children from two marriages; Catherine Ivonne and María de los Ángeles (adopted) from her first, and Carlos Javier with her second husband, Juan Rodríguez. In 2004, she moved to Central

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where she currently lives.

References

External links