Ismael Rivera (his nickname is Maelo) became famous as a Puerto Rican composer and performer of salsa compositions.
In the middle of the XNUMXth century, the singer was incredibly famous and delighted fans with his work. But what difficulties did he have to go through before becoming a famous person?
Childhood and youth of Ismael Rivera
Ismael was born in the city of Santurce (San Juan district). This city is located in Puerto Rico, and the area itself is one of the most densely populated in the capital. Rivera was the first child in the family, and later he had four more brothers and sisters.
The guy's father worked as a carpenter and was the only breadwinner, since the family had many children, and all the worries of raising children and housekeeping fell on the mother's shoulders.
From early childhood, Ismael was interested in music. His main toy was sticks, with which he liked to knock on various glass and iron jars.
When it was time to get an education, his parents sent him to Pedro G. Goiko Primary School. And soon the guy went to study carpentry at a local school.
Rivera saw how hard it was for his father to provide for his family, in order to somehow help him, he began to earn extra money by offering the services of a shoe shiner. And after graduating from college and reaching the age of 16, the guy went to work with his dad as a carpenter.
In his free time, he also liked to play various motives on improvised musical instruments, and also walked on the street with his best friend Rafael Cortijo.
Musical career as an artist
In 1948, Ismael, along with a friend, became members of the Monterrey El Conjunto Monterrey ensemble. Rivera was entrusted with the game of congas, and his friend was seated at the bongos. But at that moment, Maelo could not devote all his time to music, as he worked as a carpenter.
In 1952, he was drafted into the American army, but was soon discharged from the reserve because of his lack of knowledge of English. When the guy returned to his homeland, he decided to quit his job as a carpenter, and with the help of Cortijo, he was able to join the Panamericana orchestra, taking the position of vocalist in it.
Here he recorded debut hits with the names El Charlatán ("Charlatan"), Ya Yo Sé ("Now I know"), La Vieja en Camisa ("Old woman in a shirt") and La Sazón de Abuela ("Grandma's fragrance") .
But due to a conflict with a colleague on the basis of jealousy, Rivera was forced to leave the group.
However, the downtime was short-lived, and soon he joined the Cortijo team, recording several songs that in the future became very popular among Latin Americans.
The group rapidly increased its popularity, and Rivera himself became popular. Cuban producers became interested in him, and he only continued to enjoy creativity and rapidly achieved success.
In 1959, Ismael was invited to shoot in the movie Calypso. From that moment on, the team in which he participated toured not only in America, but also in European countries. True, this did not last long.
During the next tour in Panama, drugs were found at the singer, and he was arrested. This led not only to Rivera's imprisonment, but also to the breakup of the group.
After the expiration of the prison term, the musician decided to create his own band, calling it Ismael Rivera and His Cachimbos. He gained success almost immediately, and together with the group, Ismael successfully toured for 7 years.
He then reunited with childhood friend Cortijo and recorded several more significant hits.
But, unfortunately, Ismael's best friend soon left this world. The sad event happened in 1982. Rivera was very depressed, he could not even find the strength to say the last words and sing their common song on the day of the funeral.
After recovering a little from the loss, he decided to create a historical museum, showing what contribution Cortijo and other black people from Puerto Rico had made to the cultural life.
Personal life and death of the artist
Rivera married Virginia Fuente in 1951. The press actively discussed his affair with another girl named Gladys, who is the wife of the composer and performer of songs in the Caribbean style - Daniel Santos.
In total, Ismael became a father five times - two sons and three daughters. In general, Rivera lived a busy life and was able to achieve incredible success in the musical field. He was known both in the countries of Latin and South America, and far beyond their borders.
But, unfortunately, imprisonment and the death of his best friend had a negative impact on his health.
Rivera developed heart problems. He repeatedly underwent examinations and took the necessary therapy, but all this did not save the performer from a heart attack.
He left this world on May 13, 1987, dying in the arms of his own mother Margarita. Doctors were unanimous, and the cause of death was called a heart attack.
But, despite this, Ismael is remembered to this day. A vivid confirmation is the fact that October 5 is his day, this holiday is regularly celebrated in Puerto Rico.
