Federico A. Cordero
Encyclopedia
Federico A. Cordero is a world renowned guitarist
of classical music.
, Puerto Rico
, a town which is now part the San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Both his parents were instrumental in the formation of Cordero's character. His father taught him sports, especially boxing
, at the age of three and his mother taught him how to read and write. They also paid for his first musical lessons. In 1933, the family moved to the city of Carolina
where his father served as Mayor and where he was raised. There he received both his primary and secondary education. He received his first guitar from his mother as a gift and his neighbor, the musician Ramon Rivera gave him his first lessons.
Cordero graduated from high school in 1944 when he was 16 years old and enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico
. At the age of 19, he earned his Bachelors Degree in Social Sciences
. He made his professional debut
during his student years with the "Trio Los Romanceros", which included Julito
and Felipe Rodriguez
.
After he earned his degree, he went to New York
and entered Columbia University
earning his Master's Degree in Economics
. Cordero returned to the island and was hired by the Social Sciences Department of his Alma Mater
. In 1950, he was hired by Chile
an singer Lucho Gatica
to play the guitar in his concerts.
offered Cordero a job in the Office of Legislative Services in the Capitol Building. Later he ran and was elected as an at-large Representative in the House. He held various positions including the chairmanship of the Commerce and Industry Committee. In 1960, Cordero returned to the University of Puerto Rico to study law and won reelection to the House. Among his fellow classmates were future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Victor Pons
and future Attorney General, Senate president and Governor of Puerto Rico Rafael Hernández Colón
. In 1962, after earning his law degree, he resigned his legislative seat and taught law at his Alma Mater.
located in the city of Ponce
. He also worked as the producer of the television show "La guitarra y sus temas" (The guitar and its themes) on WIPR-TV. After the series went off the air, Cordero traveled to Madrid, Spain where he continued to take guitar and composition lessons. While in Spain he composed Pavana Jibara and Danza Puertorriqueña the first danza
written for a guitar.
In 1970, he made his debut outside of Puerto Rico when he held a concert in Aruba
. He formed a group called "Quinteto de Federico A. Cordero" with Italian cellist
Enrico Orazi, the violin
s of Roberto Alvarez and Francisco Morla and the viola
of Jaime Medina.
In 1971, "Guitar Player Magazine" published an article about Cordero and Great Britains "Guitar News", the official publication of the International Classic Guitar Association featured Cordero on their cover. That year he also held concerts in various cities of Switzerland. In 1974, he was invited to the White House
by President Gerald Ford
to give a concert. He performed with his group which also included the pianist
Vanessa Vassallo and the tenor
Edgardo Hierbolini.
In 1975, Cordero was invited to participate in a forum by the president of the Guitar Committee of American String Teachers Association to help create a system to teach guitar playing. That year he went on tour to Germany, Italy, Spain and New Orleans, United States.
In 1983, "Soundboard Magazine" published his articles The Interaction Between Manuel Ponce and Andres Segovia: 1923-1928. In 1987 he became the first Puerto Rican to be named to the board of directors of the Guitar Foundation of America.
. He has three sons, Federico, Fernando and Rafael, and one granddaughter.
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
of classical music.
Early years
Cordero (birth name: Federico Arturo Cordero Salguero) was born in SanturceSanturce
Santurce can refer to:*Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, a district of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico*Santurtzi, a town near Bilbao, the Basque Country, Spain...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, a town which is now part the San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico. Both his parents were instrumental in the formation of Cordero's character. His father taught him sports, especially boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, at the age of three and his mother taught him how to read and write. They also paid for his first musical lessons. In 1933, the family moved to the city of Carolina
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...
where his father served as Mayor and where he was raised. There he received both his primary and secondary education. He received his first guitar from his mother as a gift and his neighbor, the musician Ramon Rivera gave him his first lessons.
Cordero graduated from high school in 1944 when he was 16 years old and enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico is the state university system of Puerto Rico. The system consists of 11 campuses and has approximately 64,511 students and 5,300 faculty members...
. At the age of 19, he earned his Bachelors Degree in Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
. He made his professional debut
during his student years with the "Trio Los Romanceros", which included Julito
Julito Rodriguez
Julito Rodríguez born October 5, 1925 in Santurce, Puerto Rico, is a bolero singer, guitarist & composer.Rodriguez was acknowledged to be a child prodigy in music, becoming interested in this topic since his early childhood...
and Felipe Rodriguez
Felipe Rodríguez
Luis Felipe Rodriguez, better known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, was a singer of boleros. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records...
.
After he earned his degree, he went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and entered Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
earning his Master's Degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Cordero returned to the island and was hired by the Social Sciences Department of his Alma Mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
. In 1950, he was hired by Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an singer Lucho Gatica
Lucho Gatica
Luis Enrique Gatica Silva, better known as Lucho Gatica, is a Chilean bolero singer, film actor, and television host. It is estimated that Gatica has released more than 90 recordings. He has toured a vast portion of the world, having made concerts in Europe, the Middle East and Asia...
to play the guitar in his concerts.
Political career
The Speaker of the House of Representatives Ernesto Ramos AntoniniErnesto Ramos Antonini
Ernesto Ramos Antonini was the President of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and co-founder of the Partido Popular Democrático de Puerto Rico .-Early years:...
offered Cordero a job in the Office of Legislative Services in the Capitol Building. Later he ran and was elected as an at-large Representative in the House. He held various positions including the chairmanship of the Commerce and Industry Committee. In 1960, Cordero returned to the University of Puerto Rico to study law and won reelection to the House. Among his fellow classmates were future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
Supreme Court of Puerto Rico
The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico is the highest court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, having judicial authority within Puerto Rico to interpret and decide questions of Commonwealth law. As the highest body of the judicial branch of the Puerto Rican government, it is analogous to one of the...
Victor Pons
Víctor Pons
Víctor Pons was a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and Secretary of State of Puerto Rico.Appointed by Governor Rafael Hernández Colón, Pons headed the high court from 1985 until 1992, succeeding Chief Justice José Trías Monge....
and future Attorney General, Senate president and Governor of Puerto Rico Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón
Rafael Hernández Colón is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the fourth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico for three non-consecutive terms, from 1973 to 1977 and from 1985 to 1993. An experienced politician, Hernández holds the record for being the youngest Governor of Puerto Rico,...
. In 1962, after earning his law degree, he resigned his legislative seat and taught law at his Alma Mater.
First concert
In 1964, Cordero held his first concert at the Ponce Museum of ArtPonce Museum of Art
Museo de Arte de Ponce, or MAP, is an art museum located on Las Americas Avenue in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is considered the finest art museum in Puerto Rico. It houses a collection of European art, as well as work by Puerto Rican artists. The largest art museum in the Caribbean, it has also been...
located in the city of Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. He also worked as the producer of the television show "La guitarra y sus temas" (The guitar and its themes) on WIPR-TV. After the series went off the air, Cordero traveled to Madrid, Spain where he continued to take guitar and composition lessons. While in Spain he composed Pavana Jibara and Danza Puertorriqueña the first danza
Music of Puerto Rico
The music of Puerto Rico has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Taíno Indians, France, and the United States, and has become very popular across the Caribbean and across the globe...
written for a guitar.
In 1970, he made his debut outside of Puerto Rico when he held a concert in Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
. He formed a group called "Quinteto de Federico A. Cordero" with Italian cellist
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
Enrico Orazi, the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s of Roberto Alvarez and Francisco Morla and the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
of Jaime Medina.
In 1971, "Guitar Player Magazine" published an article about Cordero and Great Britains "Guitar News", the official publication of the International Classic Guitar Association featured Cordero on their cover. That year he also held concerts in various cities of Switzerland. In 1974, he was invited to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
by President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
to give a concert. He performed with his group which also included the pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Vanessa Vassallo and the tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
Edgardo Hierbolini.
In 1975, Cordero was invited to participate in a forum by the president of the Guitar Committee of American String Teachers Association to help create a system to teach guitar playing. That year he went on tour to Germany, Italy, Spain and New Orleans, United States.
In 1983, "Soundboard Magazine" published his articles The Interaction Between Manuel Ponce and Andres Segovia: 1923-1928. In 1987 he became the first Puerto Rican to be named to the board of directors of the Guitar Foundation of America.
Recordings
Among his CDs are the following:- Lagrimas en Soledad
- Los Dos Federico: Recuerdos de Borinquen (father & son duo)
- Mi Version
- The Best of Federico Cordero
Later years
Cordero lives on a mountaintop in Barrio Barrazas in Carolina, Puerto RicoCarolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina is a city located in the northern part of Puerto Rico, bordering the Atlantic Ocean; it lies north of Gurabo and Juncos; east of Trujillo Alto and San Juan; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over 12 wards plus Carolina Pueblo...
. He has three sons, Federico, Fernando and Rafael, and one granddaughter.