José Luis Rodríguez Vélez (12 March 1915 in

Santiago de Veraguas Santiago de Veraguas () is the capital of the province of Veraguas, in the Republic of Panama, and the district or municipality of the same name. Located in the countryside next to the Pan American Highway. Bounded on the north by San Francisco Di ...

– 21 December 1984 in

Ciudad de Panamá Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

, Panamá) was a Panamanian composer, musical director,

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...

and guitarist. He was the author of dozens of

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans during colonial times. Cumbia is said to have com ...

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, pasillos, waltzes, dances and marches. He was a music teacher at the Escuela Normal Juan Demóstenes Arosemena, the Instituto Justo Arosemena, the Instituto Urracá, among others. He organized a music festival with bands and choirs, and music competitions. As a professional musician, he created and directed the Orquesta "El Patio", as well as choirs, other orchardestras and musical groups in Panamá. For a life dedicated to education, the Panamanian Government conferred on him the

Order of Manuel José Hurtado The Order of Manuel José Hurtado (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Orden Manuel José Hurtado'') is the highest order for educators of the Republic of Panama and was established by Decree No. 412 of November 27, 1959. It is named after Manuel José H ...

in 1975, the most important award in the Republic of Panamá for an educator or an education institution.Cornejo, Orlando. 'El aporte del Profesor José Luis Rodríguez al desarrollo de la cultura en el distrito de Santiago'. Universidad de Panamá, Panamá, 1992

Selected compositions

*''Parque de Santiago'', Bolero. *''Ansiedad de ti'', Bolero. *''Encrucijada de amor'', Bolero. *''Eres tú para mí'', Bolero. *''Mientras exista Dios'', Bolero. *''Estoy triste, muy triste'', Ritmic Bolero. *''Plegaria al Señor'', Ritmic Bolero. *''Aida y Aurita'', Pasillo. *''Tristeza'', Pasillo Song. *''Eva'', Pasillo. *''Amanecer en el campo'', Choral Saloma. *''Canto a mi madre buena'', Choral. *''Motivos panameños'', Danzón. *''Si tu me quisieras'' (also known as ''Cumbia Santiagueña''), Cumbia. *''Dime otra vez que sí'', Cumbia. *''La tinajita'', Cumbia. *''Muchachita'', Cumbia. *''Por el caminito'', Cumbia. *''Urracá'', March. *''Convivencia estudiantil'', March. *''Despedida de la escuela'', Vals. *''Tus quince años'', Vals. *''Los niños de América cantan'', Song. *''Duérmete mi bien'', Lullaby.

References

External links

La riqueza musical de José Luis Rodríguez Vélez (in Spanish)

About 'Si tu me quisieras' and Other Carnival Music (in Spanish)
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez Velez, Jose Luis 1915 births 1984 deaths People from Santiago District, Veraguas Panamanian composers Panamanian male musicians Male composers Panamanian saxophonists Panamanian conductors (music) Panamanian clarinetists Panamanian guitarists 20th-century conductors (music) 20th-century composers 20th-century guitarists 20th-century saxophonists 20th-century Panamanian musicians 20th-century male musicians