Odilio González (born 5 March 1937), known by his stage name , is a Puerto Rican singer, guitarist and music composer who has been singing and composing for more than 65 years. He has mostly played traditional Puerto Rican folkloric music, songs dedicated to Puerto Rico's .

Career

González was born in 1937 in

Piletas Piletas is a barrio in the municipality of Lares, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 5,671. History Piletas was in Spain's gazetteers until Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the ...

barrio in

Lares Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ) were Tutelary deity#Ancient Rome, guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an ama ...

, a municipality of

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 ...

. He used to sing at funerals in Lares then became a popular child star after a series of early radio performances in the capital city of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

. González has sung in the island's ancient traditional poetic song form, the ''

décima A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry. The most popular form is called décima espinela after Vicente Espinel (1550–1624), a Spanish writer, poet, and musician from the Spanish Golden Age who used it extensively throughout his compositions. T ...

'' (also known as "

jíbaro Jivaro or Jibaro, also spelled Hivaro or Hibaro, may refer to: * Jíbaro (Puerto Rico), mountain-dwelling peasants in Puerto Rico * Jíbaro music, a Puerto Rican musical genre * Jivaroan peoples, indigenous peoples in northern Peru and eastern ...

" music), as well as performing mainstream pop music. His stage name is "El Jibarito de Lares". He debuted on the

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 ...

stage in 1958, singing before Puerto Ricans in the

Teatro Puerto Rico The Teatro Puerto Rico was a music hall focused on the Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino community in the Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx in New York City. During the 1940s to 1950s it presented ''la farándula, ...

. His first recordings of traditional ''jíbaro'', available from

Ansonia Records Ansonia may refer to: Places * Ansonia, Ontario, Canada * Ansonia, Connecticut, U.S. ** Ansonia High School (Connecticut) ** Ansonia station * Ansonia, Ohio, U.S. ** Ansonia High School (Ohio) * Ansonia, Pennsylvania, U.S. Other uses * ''An ...

, were recorded in New York City during that period. Fellow Lares native

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (; born September 10, 1945) is a Puerto Rican musician. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' " Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song "". Music genres he explo ...

's singing style was influenced by González during his youth. González crossed over into pop music in 1962, when he recorded ''Celos Sin Motivo'', composed by

Ismael Santiago Ismael may refer to: People * Ismael Khalid (born 2000), American live-streamer known as Johnny Somali * Ismael Balkhi, political activist from Afghanistan * Ismael Blanco (born 1983), Argentine professional footballer * Ismael Prego, Spanish Yo ...

. Another of his successful recordings was ("I had a light"), a Christmas song recorded in the early 1970s. Gonzalez resides in

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 ...

and continues to perform around the island as well as on trips to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to sing for older Puerto Rican expatriates, including a visit to Hawaii to sing before the Puerto Rican diaspora there.

Selected discography

Some of González music includes:

Albums

* *

Singles

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Odilio 20th-century Puerto Rican male singers 20th-century Puerto Rican singers Living people People from Arecibo, Puerto Rico People from Lares, Puerto Rico 1937 births

Career

Selected discography

Albums

Singles

See also

References