Fortunato Vizcarrondo Calderon (1895-1977) was an Afro-Puerto Rican composer, professor, and poet. He is best known for his poem "¿Y Tu Abuela Donde Esta?".[1][2]
Fortunato Vizcarrondo | |
|---|---|
| Born | Fortunato Vizcarrondo Calderon March 13, 1895 Carolina, Puerto Rico |
| Died | November 18, 1977 (aged 82) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Resting place | Cementerio Municipal de Carolina |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Alma mater | University of Puerto Rico |
| Spouse | Generosa Martínez Y Pérez (1918-1982) |
| Children | 8 |
 Literature portal | |
Early life edit
Fortunato Vizcarrondo Calderon was born on March 13, 1895, in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the son of Fortunato Vizcarrondo Y Mongrand and Rosenda Asunción Rodón Y Quiñonez.[3]
Life and career edit
Studied music at a young age under the tutelage of professor Manuel Barasoaín Julbe. Joined several of orchestras where he played wind instrument. Graduated as an English teacher from the University of Puerto Rico and worked as a teacher in Carolina and Río Grande for 10 years. After that he worked as mailman for the United States Postal Service. At the beginning of the 60s due to the inauguration of the music conservatory in Hato Rey got to learned more about music from that institution. Retired from the Postal Service after 26 years of service and became a music teacher where he taught in Río Grande, Vieques and Carolina where he was the director of the municipal band.
Personal life edit
He married Generosa Martínez Pérez in 1918, gaining a step-daughter named Iluminada Díaz Y Martínez (1917).[4] The marriage produced seven children:
- Rosa A. (1919)
- Fortunato, III (1920)
- Elmer Americus (1921)
- Aurea Asunción (1922)
- Dolores (1926)
- Mildred (1928)
- Carmen Lydia (1940)
Death edit
In the last years of Fortunato's life, he suffered from ill health. In December 1977, he had a diabetic shock and slipped into a coma. He spent two weeks at Hospital Presbiteriano, where he died on November 18, 1977, at 82. Fortunato's body was interred in The Municipal Cemetery in Carolina.[5][6]
Works edit
- ¿Y Tu Abuela Donde Esta? (1942)
- Dinga y Mandinga (1976)
References edit
- ^ "Fortunato Vizcarrondo". Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ Puerto Rican Poetry: An Anthology from Aboriginal to Contemporary Times. University of Massachusetts Press. 2007. ISBN 978-1-55849-561-6.
- ^ "Fortunato Vizcarrondo Y Martinez in the 1940 Census | Ancestry®". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ Social and Population Schedules of the 1935 Special Census of Puerto Rico, compiled 1935–1936. Microfilm publication M1881, 88 rolls. ARC ID: 2791195. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790–2007, Record Group 29. National Archives at Washington, D.C.
- ^ "Carolina redescubre las aportaciones históricas de Fortunato Vizcarrondo". Periódico Presencia. 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ^ "Fortunato Vizcarrondo". www.carolina787.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-02-28.