Fresh new female singers are influencing our music today and artists like Andrea Cruz, iLe (Ileana Cabra) and Raquel Sofía are just a few. They have different styles and it’s great to have that variety. However, what makes them great artists is how much they know about our music history and how they integrate vintage vibes from our past musical ancestors. This way they create classical pieces, can be creative, influenced and inspired to keep on cultivating good stuff. So for those of you who would like to get to know a little bit more of our great female musicians and influencers from the past, here are the top three revolutionary ladies from our Puerto Rican music:
3. Eydie Gormé, “La Neuyokina”
Edith Gormezano found her passion for singing when she was just 3 years old. She influenced our latin pop music culture during the 1950s and revolutionized the participation of woman in trio songs. Examples of these songs are, “Piel Canela,” “Historia de un Amor” & “Cuando vuelva a tu lado” and also a Christmas album, “Blanca Navidad,” in which she collaborated with Los Panchos. She contributed to our famous bellonera songs, love ballads and iconic boleros. In 1995, she got a Songwriter’s Hall of Fame recognition with her husband, whom she met through her musical journey, making them an iconic duet. She also won an Emmy for starring in the 90s sitcom “The Nanny” and even a Grammy for best female voice.
2. Virginia Lopez, aka “The voice of tenderness” (“La Voz de la Ternura”)
Lopez influenced a great part of the popular latin music back in the 50s. She was born and raised in Manhattan and the West Side streets of New York in a Puerto Rican household. She was an internationally successful woman who sang romantic ballads, or as we call them boleros. She has collaborated with many trios like Trio San Juan and Chago Alvarado. With Chago, she debuted the famous duet “Cariñito Azucarado.” The pronunciation of her words in her songs characterized her as a tender and sweet voice, and made her stand out in our music and later on, she became a praised diva in México.
1. Sylvia Rexach
Born and raised in Santurce, she was a true bohemian of her era. She was also known to write poetic pieces that were ahead of her time. Rumors say that she was the real composer of the song, “Triste Navidad” from Rafael Hernández. Her lyrics were melancholic and as said before, bohemian, but this shows how she managed to turn her aching heart into art or beautiful poetry and metaphors, making her one of the best known female composers of Puerto Rican music. Songs like “Olas y Arenas” (which was once covered by iLe and Jorge Drexler) are one of her top hits, and our grandparents most likely know the lyrics by heart. She was so successful and recognized for her love and passion for music and fine arts that a theater has been named after her in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan.
There are many more female artists that deserve recognition and it is always important, as MJ once said, to “Study the greats and become greater” (in this case if you have dreams of becoming an artist or musician, like me). Either way, learning from our roots will always help us appreciate our culture and the arts. I am pretty sure iLe knows a lot of our musical ancestors, due to the vintage vibe in her style. And it’s no science how she is reviving the art of boleros and love ballads. True artists like her, Andrea Cruz and Raquel also follow this vibe in some of their songs. So to all the true dreamers and artists, know where you come from and appreciate those from our past that gave us great music, like these divas did, to know where you are standing. This will help us keep dreaming and creating good things wherever we are!
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