Sylvia Rexach was a comedy scriptwriter, poet, singer and composer of bolero

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...

s .

Early years

Rexach was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico. There she attended public school and received her primary education. She then went to a private school where she finished her secondary education before attending the Central High School of Santurce. During her high school years, when she was 14 years old, she wrote several poems which were to become part of her musical compositions. She amazed her teachers when she composed "Di, Corazón" (Tell me, Heart) and "Matiz de Amor" (Calm Love). Rexach also learned how to play musical instruments, such as the guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, the piano

Piano

The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 and the saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 at a young age.

World War II

Rexach 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...

 where she was going to take a pre-legal course, however when the United States entered World War II in 1942, Rexach dropped-out of the university and joined the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 as a member of the WACS (Women Army Corps Service) where she served as an office clerk.

Post WW II

After the war, Rexach was discharged from the armed forces. She married William Riley with whom she had three children which included actress/singer Sharen Riley. The marriage eventually ended in a divorce and she returned to Puerto Rico where she went to work for a radio station as a comical script writer, first for producer Tommy Muñiz

Tommy Muñiz

Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez , better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner...

, and later for comedian Ramón Rivero

Ramón Rivero (Diplo)

Ramón Rivero — known as Diplo — was a comedian, actor, composer and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television and cinema industries...

 "Diplo". She was the founder of the first Combo in Puerto Rico consisting entirely of women. They were named Las Damiselas, and besides Rexach included: Lucy Boscana

Lucy Boscana

Lucy Boscana was an actress and a pioneer in Puerto Rico's television industry.-Early years:Boscana was born in the city of Mayagüez which is located on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Her family moved to the United States when she was a child because of the economic crisis in the island...

, Marta Romero

Marta Romero

Marta Romero is an actress and singer, who was one of the pioneers in Puerto Rican television.-Early years:Romero was born in barrio Machuelo Abajo of the city of Ponce, on the south coast of Puerto Rico. She is considered by many as a "natural performer" because she never took singing or acting...

, Millita, Elena Rita Ortiz and Ketty Cabán.

Singing career

In 1951, Rexach had a newspaper column called "A Sotto Voce" where she was a music critic. She was also a co-founder of The Puerto Rican Society of Authors, Composers and Music Editors (Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Autores, Compositores y Editores de Música). She was its Secretary Director, a position which held until the day of her death.

The tones of Rexach's compositions varied from the soft and romantic to the harsh and tormented. Among the songs written by her and which were "hits" in Puerto Rico and aboard were: "Alma Adentro" (Inner Soul, actually a homage to a brother who died in an accident), "Idilio", "Olas y Arenas" (Waves and Sands), "Mi Versión" (My Version), "Nave sin Rumbo" (Wandering Ship), "Di, Corazón" and "Matiz de Amor". She even wrote a humorous novelty song, "Cuchú cuchía", which features Rafael Hernández Marín

Rafael Hernández Marín

Rafael Hernández , was one of the most important composers of Puerto Rican popular music during the 20th century.-Early years:...

 as a co-composer.

Sylvia Rexach, an alcoholic at the time, died on October 20, 1961 in San Juan, Puerto Rico from stomach cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

.

Legacy

Her compositions have been recorded by many other artists, such as Marco Antonio Muñiz

Marco Antonio Muñiz

Marco Antonio Muñiz is a singer from Jalisco, Mexico. Known all over Latin America, Muñiz actually has declared publicly and in most countries he has visited, that Puerto Rico is his second country, and many Puerto Ricans consider him to be an "honorary Puerto Rican"...

, Danny Rivera

Danny Rivera

Danny Rivera is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who was born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well-known in Puerto Rico for his political activism.-Musical career:...

, Gilberto Monroig

Gilberto Monroig

Gilberto Monroig was a guitarist, and singer of boleros.-Early years:Monroig's parents moved from the countryside to the city in search of a better way of life and settled in the Villa Palmera sector of Santurce, a section of San Juan where the musical sounds of the bomba and plena and of the...

, Chucho Avellanet

Chucho Avellanet

Armando Hipólito Avellanet González , nicknamed "Chucho" is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor...

, Lucecita Benítez

Lucecita Benítez

Luz Esther Benítez , better known in the music world as Lucecita, is a Puerto Rican singer.-Biography:Lucecita was a member of what is historically known in Puerto Rico as the New Wave, or Nueva Ola of popular music, created by Alfred D. Herger, alongside Lissette and Chucho Avellanet, among others...

, Juan Luis Barry, Linda Rondstadt, Ednita Nazario

Ednita Nazario

Ednita Nazario is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter who has achieved stardom both at home and abroad. She has been in the music business from a young age, and has released over twenty albums throughout her career....

 and Lunna

Lunna

Lunna , is a singer of Pop and Jazz who was the director of the television show Objetivo Fama, the Latin version of American Idol.-Early years:...

. Two television specials were made about Sylvia's life, "Sylvia, en tu Memoria" (Sylvia, in your Memory) and Ángela Meyer

Angela Meyer

Ángela Meyer is an actress, comedian and producer of television and theatrical works.-Early years:...

's "El fondo del Dolor" (In the Deepest Pain) starring Sharon Riley, Sylvia's daughter.

In 2001, Rexach was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame

International Latin Music Hall of Fame

The International Latin Music Hall of Fame was established in 1999.In addition to the induction into the Hall of Fame, the award ceremonies include Special Recognition Awards and Beny Moré Memorial Award.-1999:...

. There is a theater named after Rexach in San Juan and in the Luis A. Ferre

Luis A. Ferré

Don Luis Alberto Ferré Aguayo was a Puerto Rican engineer, industrialist, politician, philanthropist, and a patron of the arts. He was the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and the founding father of the New Progressive Party which advocates for Puerto Rico...

 Center of Fine Arts, there is a Sylvia Rexach Cafe Theater.

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican Songwriters
• List of female composers
• List of composers by nationality