RAFAEL HERNANDEZ Puerto Rico's Soul

Latin Beat Magazine, April, 1999 by Frank M. Figueroa

The epitaph on Rafael Hernández's tomb reads: Si yo no hubiera nacido en la tierra que nací, If I hadn't been born in the land of my birth, estuviera arrepentido de no haber nacido allí. I'd have always regretted not being born there.

Those are the first lines of Rafael Hernández's song El Buen Borincano (The Good Puerto Rican.) It was a true blessing for all of us that the author of Lamento Borincano, Preciosa and over 1,000 love songs was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. Who else could have portrayed in song the very essence of the Puerto Rican people? It could only be the work of a genuine jibarito, from the Barrio Tamarindo whose musical talent was tenderly nurtured and inspired by his grandmother and dedicated local music teachers.

As a child, Rafael was not interested in music. He dreamed of being a train engineer or a cigar maker. He did work for a short time in a local cigar factory, but his grandmother persisted in his studying music. She ran a small restaurant where local musicians and teachers frequently came to eat. One of her customers was José Ruellán Lequerica, a respected band master and music teacher. She asked him to teach her grandson music and the rest is history. After studying solfeggio and training on instruments, Rafael was ready to join the school band as a trumpet player. That was not the instrument of his choice, but in those days a young musician had to play whatever instrument the band had available. In his hometown many believed that playing the trumpet put undue stress on the lungs, causing illnesses like tuberculosis. In an attempt to escape from taking music lessons, Rafael played a trick on his grandmother. While practicing the trumpet at home one day, he pricked the gums of his teeth to induce bleeding and lead her to believe it was lung disease. She did not fall for the trick and explained that if the trumpet was giving him problems he would have to study the violin.

Under the tutelage of bandmaster Lequerica and respected musician and teacher Jesús Figueroa, Rafael Hernández learned to play the trombone, saxhorn (bombardino), guitar, piano and the banjo. Musician's work was hard to obtain at that time, especially in a small town like Aguadilla. Rafael had to earn his keep by Living music lessons and playing occasionally with local dance groups and traveling circus bands. Seeking better employment opportunities, the young musician moved to the Puerta Tierra sector of San Juan, where his sister Victoria lived. There he soon joined a small group that provided background music for silent films in a local movie house. On Sunday he played saxhorn (bombardino) at park concerts with the Municipal Band led by Manuel Tizol.

Rafael Hernández's first attempt at composing was a waltz he wrote as an adolescent in Aguadilla. It was inspired and named after Virginia Fábregas, a Mexican actress who performed briefly in his hometown. In 1917, he wrote another waltz which he entitled Mi Provisa, using the first letters of the name of his musician friends' girlfriends (MI-caela, Pro-videncia, VI-centa, and the last syllable of Ro-SA.) Eventually, he sold this song for the incredible sum of twenty-five cents. On January 12, 1917, under the name Orquesta Hernández, Rafael recorded three danzones for the Victor label in San Juan, Puerto Rico -Vitito y Marina, Abril y Mayo, and Amor de Madre- all written by him.

After World War I broke out, Rafael Hernández and many other Puerto Rican musicians enlisted in the Army to play with the 375th U.S. Infantry Regiment Band. This was a period of professional growth for Hernández. He honed his skills as a musician through his contact with other talented instrumentalists and exposure to modern musical currents. The regiment saw action in France and Rafael served not only asa musician, but asa medic in the front lines. His experiences in France provided the inspiration for his composition Oui Madame.

When the war ended, Rafael returned briefly to Puerto Rico and then migrated to New York. In 1920, he was offered a contract to Lo to Havana, Cuba, to lead the orchestra at the Teatro Fausto. During his four-year stay in Cuba, Hernández blossomed asa composer, writing many danzones, danzas and waltzes. Upon his return to New York in 1925, he organized the Trío Borinquen. For that group he wrote such hits as: Menéalo, Me La Pagarás, Siciliana and Mi Patria Tiembla. Following the usage of the time, Rafael added music to the verses of famous Puerto Rican poets such as José de Diego (Laura Mía) and José Gautier Benítez (A Mis Amigos). He recorded those songs in 1928 for Columbia Records.

A year later, while sitting at a small restaurant in Spanish Harlem, he wrote his signature song, Lamento Borincano. Rafael described the circumstances in which the song was written this way:

It happened in one of those rainy days when you find yourself broke and feeling sad and gloomy. I was at a table with a group of friends sharing a bottle of Puerto Rican rum. As we drank, our thoughts flew back to our distant Caribbean homeland. We could visualize the island with its beautiful beaches, lined by swaying palm trees. In our daydream we conceived a virtual tropical paradise. Moved by the nostalgia and melancholy of that cold afternoon, I sat at a dilapidated piano in a corner of the room and started to play the melody of Lamento Borincano. The tune evolved spontaneously.