By Carlos Flores
CHICAGO - La Cosecha del Pueblo is a feature section dedicated to the many individuals who have promoted and preserved Puerto Rican culture within Chicago's neighborhoods. The two individuals featured here are perfect examples of this dedication.
For over a decade, Chicago's Puerto Rican community has been enriched with the talent of two brothers who have committed their lives to promoting and preserving traditional Puerto Rican music. Orlando and David Rivera migrated to Chicago from Puerto Rico and, since this time they have succeeded in becoming music teachers in the Chicago Public School system, established a community-based storefront music school, and developed two musical ensembles that are receiving accolades here in Chicago. These ensembles are the First Puerto Rican Cuatro and Guitar Orchestra of Chicago and the Puerto Rican Quintet of Chicago.
Orlando Rivera, the oldest of four Rivera siblings (three boys and a girl), was born on January 27, 1958, in the state of New Jersey, as a result of his parents migrating to the United States. Their father had spent over 10 years as a migrant farmer in New Jersey and Ohio before marrying their mother. The second oldest, David, was born on March 13, 1961, in Aibonito, Puerto Rico, after the family returns to the island. Both brothers moved at a young age to a barrio known as "El Polvorin" in Cayey, Puerto Rico, where they spend their remaining childhood and young adult lives.
Orlando and David claim they originate from humble beginnings. Their parents were working class people who could only provide the basic necessities to survive, however the brothers claim they grew up with great amounts of love in the family. The two brothers grew up in a productive environment in Puerto Rico that included many neighborhood friends. They participated in various local sports events such as baseball, track and field, etc. When they were growing up in Cayey there were no music programs offered at the grammar or high school levels. For two years Orlando and David attended a cultural center in Caguas where they received their first music lessons. However, the brothers did not receive any formal music education training until they enrolled in the Inter-American University music school in San German, Puerto Rico.
According to Orlando, their grandfather who was himself a Cuatro player musically influenced him and David; Orlando remembers his grandfather as being a "bohemian". His grandfather, who played Cuatro in various musical ensembles throughout different towns, had 18 children (including his father). Orlando remembers when he was a child that his grandfather and uncles would get together to play music after dinner. Orlando claims he always dreamed of someday being an entertainer, especially of being a musician. He received his first music lesson from his father when he was attending the 7th grade. His father told him that he simply was going to teach him how to hold and place his fingers on the guitar in order to play just three basic chords. Orlando recalls that his father specifically told him that he was only going to teach him that one lesson; it would be up to Orlando to learn and master the guitar on his own. After only a few hour, Orlando came back and showed his father not only had he learned the three basic chords, but he also sang a song for his father with these same three chords. A few days later, Orlando went to the Catholic priest in his parish, who at the time was recruiting musicians to form a church group, and told him that he knew how to play guitar. Orlando was accepted into the church group and it was here where he continued learning to play the guitar as well as learning to play the bass and other instruments. As with the first lesson given by his father, Orlando learned mostly by ear; other church band members offered other instruction. This particular story shows us how Orlando's musical career took flight.
David's musical introduction also began with the guitar, and he credits Orlando for influencing him in selecting music education as his career. In 1977, Orlando told David about the possibility of joining a salsa band based in their hometown of Cayey, known by the name of OKMIC. However the band was looking for a trombone player and David reluctantly, took on the task of learning how to play the trombone in order to pass an audition. David's reluctance resulted from the fact that he was totally unfamiliar with the trombone. Orlando purchased a trombone for David and David set out to learn the instrument. According to David, during this time he was attending high school where another student was also learning to play trombone. This student had a trombone position chart showing the different positions on the instrument. David asked the young man to lend him the charts in order for him to practice and learn these positions. The young man refused to let David see the chart. David took the chart without the student's permission. He brought the chart home and copied the entire document. The next day he returned the original chart and David recalls being confronted by the student and accused of taking the chart; he denied the accusations. Ultimately, David learned the trombone positions, passed the audition and was asked to join the band. This story about the trombone shows David's determination and efforts to master musical instruments. The challenge of learning a new instrument did not deter David from becoming a member of the salsa band and to join his brother in the band. David played with the salsa band for the next couple of years.
The Rivera brothers attended the Benjamin Harrison High School in Cayey, Puerto Rico. Orlando studied bookkeeping and David learned the skills of operating and maintenance of sewing machines. After graduating from high school Orlando briefly attended the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey where he planned to major in Business Administration. However, always involved in the music scene, Orlando looked at other options. Since he spent so much time playing with local salsa bands in the area, he opted to enroll at the Inter-American University in San German and pursue a music career. Orlando claims he chose InterAmerican University for their lenient admissions policy and they also did not require proficiency in reading musical charts, nor did he need previous formal music education background. At Inter American University, Orlando rapidly learned to read music. After a year, he applied at the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico, where he was admitted under probationary status. Orlando studied and practiced very hard and excelled rapidly in his courses and eventually graduated with honors from the conservatory. Upon receiving his degree he was offered a position as an instructor and music coordinator at the prestigious Escuela Libre de Musica of San Juan. During this time he had been performing with classical musical ensembles in Puerto Rico as a double bass player. He was also playing bass with other popular salsa artist like Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez and Johnny Pacheco, Marvin Santiago, Roberto Lugo, and many others.
Eventually, during his senior year at the conservatory, Orlando fell in love, got married and was faced with the reality of supporting a wife and a child. A Japanese company that began its operations in Puerto Rico offered Orlando an employment opportunity earning much more money and benefits than in the position as a music educator. He decided to take the job with the company and give up the music-teaching career. For the next 6 years Orlando worked for the Japanese company and continued playing bass with several professional orchestras in Puerto Rico.
David followed in the same footsteps as Orlando and in 1979, after graduating from high school; he also enrolled at the InterAmerican University where he earned a music degree. David specialized in playing the trombone, as well as other instruments. In 1984 he graduated from college and returned to his hometown and took on a teaching position at the intermediate school that he had attended as a youngster. Here he was responsible for the development and the teaching of students enrolled in beginner band classes. He also taught music classes to high school students for credit. David, like Orlando continued playing and also played with several salsa bands around the island, including Guillo Rivera, Junior Toledo, and others.
In 1985, David moved to Chicago with his girlfriend, whom he married and who was also a music education teacher. She found a job as a music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. David faced a difficult transition in Chicago due primarily to the language barrier. He remembers that on one occasion he visited Casa Central to inquire about employment and he was advised by the job counselor to reconsider his situation and return to Puerto Rico, where he would be better off. He found a job at a school (John Elementary School) as a teacher's assistant; he recalls that the staff at the school was very unfriendly toward him. The non-Latino staff was very unhappy about the implementation of bilingual programs in the school. He believes the only reason some teachers welcomed him was due to his ability to teach the students how to play piano. A year later he met Aricelis Figueroa, who was District Five Superintendent, and Dr. Thomas Stewart, who happened to be the principal at the Brian Piccolo Elementary School. They both arranged to assist David in his application to obtain a permanent position as a music instructor at the Piccolo school. David expresses a great deal of respect and admiration for Dr. Stewart, an African-American; he considers Dr. Stewart a father figure. In 1988 David was hired at Piccolo Elementary School and spent the next 13 years at the school as the music instructor. He eventually learned to speak English and, in 1989 passed the teacher's exam and became a certified teacher with the Chicago Public Schools. For the last year and a half David has served as a music instructor at Kelvyn Park High School.
He is presently teaching and developing three beginner student bands, a jazz band, and a steel drum band. David also became connected with the local salsa music scene shortly after arriving in Chicago. While at an unemployment office, David met Willie Garcia, lead singer from Orquesta Sabor. Willie invited him to come to a rehearsal and David was hired on the spot. He has played with every major local salsa band since then and has accompanied many out-of -town stars when they perform in Chicago.
Meanwhile, by 1990, Orlando's employer in Puerto Rico decided to relocate the company to the Dominican Republic. Orlando found job prospects on the island were not suitable, but he was not at all interested in relocating to Chicago. However, when David invited Orlando to spend a vacation in Chicago, he accepts the offer.
After spending a couple of weeks vacationing in Chicago, Orlando was very impressed with Chicago. He returned to Puerto Rico to make all the necessary arrangements to relocate to Chicago. Upon arriving in Chicago he also experienced some problems as a result of the language barrier, however 3 months after his arrival he landed a job as a bilingual math teacher at the Nobel School. Orlando, like David, began playing with several local Salsa and Latin jazz bands, including Cayito y La Distinguida and It's Us. His preparation as a classical trained musician also provided him the opportunity to perform with local classical ensembles like the Northeastern University Symphony Orchestra (where David also performed), and the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1991 Orlando is offered a job as music instructor at the Chopin Elementary School and he has been there ever since. At Chopin Elementary, Orlando has established a music program that includes full band as well as some smaller ensembles.
In the early 1990's, David began to branch out into the community by establishing a relationship with the members of the SATA (Spanish American Theater Academy) organization, which was located on the third floor of Northwest Hall, located on the SW corner North Avenue and Western Avenue. He occupied some space and established a small business that he called "Music Express Rent A Band", which primarily arranged bookings for local bands and DJ's. He later took his business to Jayuya Barber Shop on Division Street and expanded the business to include the sale of instruments, including Puerto Rican Cuatros. From there he began an evening music program teaching Cuatro and guitar at the Puerto Rican Parade Committee, and was assisted by his brother Orlando. David indicates that he received a great deal of help from the Puerto Rican Parade president and local radio personality, Elias Diaz y Perez. He was surprised when he placed a commercial on Diaz y Perez radio program about the music program and more than 50 individuals enrolled for the classes. After several weeks at the Casa Puertorriqueña, David decided it was time to open his own music academy to provide music lessons to the community at large.
In 1995 David established a music school by the name of Music Express, located at 2652 West Fullerton. In the year 2000 the school relocated to 4046 West Armitage in Chicago (773)384-6349. The location of this school is very pivotal to the many Puerto Rican/Latino residents from the area because it provides the opportunity for the local community residents to fulfill their inspiration of learning to play an musical instrument. The school is open some evenings during the weekdays and all day on Saturday, and they provide private lessons on almost any instrument, including the Puerto Rican Cuatro.
David, Orlando, and other music instructors offer private music lessons. In addition, the store sells used and new instruments, and carry a nice selection of music books in Spanish and English language. When you visit the store on any given day you will encounter someone either inquiring or signing up for a class, or inquiring about purchasing instruments or music books. In January of this year (2002), I visited the store and found David and Orlando playing a demo record they had just completed the day before. David had written the arrangements. The story behind the recording is that a gentlemen who works on the city's garbage truck has been visiting the store to speak to David about arranging some compositions that he has written. David agreed to write the arrangement for one of the compositions, and the gentlemen would make the arrangements to schedule studio time in order to record the demo. The demo was recorded to a Salsa beat and I must say that the arrangement held some promise. The same individual is now composing a song about the terrorist and the 911-incident, and he wants David to do the arrangements.
When you visit the Music Express School you get a sense of community. You will observe people of all ages and different sexes participating in music lessons. You will find proud parents bringing their children to learn to play an instrument, in many cases many are learning to play the Puerto Rican Cuatro. You will find entire families (mother, father, sons and daughters) taking private music lessons. David and Orlando work with these families to ensure that they can afford to pay for private lessons for the entire family. The great commitment and dedication of the Rivera brothers has brought about the formation of two outstanding musical ensembles that specialize in traditional Puerto Rican music. I am referring to the First Puerto Rican Cuatro and Guitar Orchestra of Chicago and the Quinteto Puertorriqueño de Chicago. The Puerto Rican Cuatro and Guitar Orchestra is being recognized as a cultural musical ensemble in Chicago as a result of their dynamic repertoire of traditional Puerto Rican music. This ensemble has the potential of providing the opportunity to anyone, regardless of age or sex, to come together and experience the wonderful traditional music of Puerto Rico. It provides each individual participant the opportunity of not only learning the skills to play a traditional musical instrument, but also most importantly preserving the essence of a traditional musical culture, which has been the bloodline of Puerto Rican culture for centuries.
The Cuatro and Guitar Orchestra made their debut performance at the First Puerto Rican Cuatro Festival in November of 1998 at the Roberto Clemente Community Academy. The orchestra also performed in the last two Cuatro Festivals held at the Field Museum of Chicago. In the last Cuatro Festival held in November 2001, the orchestra gave a magnificent performance that brought the audience to a standing ovation. At this performance, the orchestra expanded its size to include over 25 Cuatro and guitar players, a bass, guiro, and bongo player, one troubadour, and the addition of three new female singers. A local reporter covering the event wrote that the orchestra is becoming "el orgullo del pueblo Boricua de Chicago" (the pride of the Puerto Rican community in Chicago).
Presently, David and Orlando are collaborating with the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance in providing free Cuatro and guitar lessons at the Chicago Park District Humboldt Park Fieldhouse. These lessons are provided twice a week during weekday evenings for a period of 10 weeks during the Fall and Winter sessions. This program was established several months after the first Cuatro Festival in 1998. Upon course completion, students have the option to continue private lessons or they may be invited to be part of the Cuatro orchestra.
David and Orlando have also formed a brass quintet that includes two trumpet players, two trombone players, and a bass player. This group's repertoire consists of turn of the century Puerto Rican popular music, particularly the Puerto Rican danzas, popular at the end of the 18th century. David and Orlando's dream is to continue to develop these musical ensembles to the level of performance that will one day allow them to play on the same stages as other chamber and/or symphony orchestras who perform in the most prestigious music concert halls in Chicago and throughout the United States. With their spirit, coupled with their diligent hard work and dedication that dream may become a reality in the near future. These are two individuals that I acknowledge as being the unsung heroes and leaders in our Puerto Rican community because their gift is unconditional and it comes directly from the heart. The Puerto Rican community as well as the rest of the Chicago, should be very proud of these two individuals and we need to continue to support them morally and spiritually so they may carry on with their task of keeping Puerto Rican culture alive and kicking in Chicago.