2023-05-06 13:16:25
One of the iconic figures of Salsa is celebrating today, Saturday.
Known as Mr. Afinque, Fernando Luis “Willie” Rosario Marín celebrates his tender 99 years today without giving any indication of wanting to get off the stage.
It was his fellow musician, also a teacher and friend Bobby Valentín, who remembered the important date through social networks.
Today is a very important day for us salsa singers and colleagues because today we celebrate 99 years of life of Fernando Luis Rosario, better known in the artistic field as Willie Rosario “Mr. Tune in”. We thank God for so many years of life. Willie is a great human being and an example for all the Musicians and Orchestra Directors in the whole world, ”Valentín wrote on his Facebook account.
“I am grateful for the opportunity he gave me when I started out in New York City. Willie is part of my family. I thank God for having Willie with us in this daily life and delighting us with his excellent music. Congratulations, health and blessings. May God bless you abundantly and give you long life”, added the renowned bassist.
Rosario was born on May 6, 1924 in Coamo. From an early age in 1937, she began his inspiration in music through the orchestras led by Rafael Muñoz and the Puerto Rico Sextet, of which he imitated percussion at the age of seven.
In 1945, he took his first steps in music with the Conjunto Coamex, made up of a group of friends with whom he acted as bassist. In 1947, like many Puerto Ricans, he traveled with his family to New York City in search of better living conditions. In 1951, Willie enlisted in the United States military during the Korean War. On one of his leaves from the army, he visited the famous Palladium ballroom, where he was fortunate to see Tito Puente playing his timbales standing up. This experience led him to make the decision to become a percussionist and study with the Jew Henry Adler and with a famous musician of the time: Willie Rodríguez.
In 1952, following completing his military service, he returned to Puerto Rico, where he joined the Fiesta Orchestra as a drummer, replacing Mon Rivera. In 1956 he participated for the first time in a musical recording together with the Johnny Seguí orchestra, the album was titled “Chachachá”. With the dissolution of Johnny Seguí’s orchestra, in 1958, Rosario founded his first orchestra, made up mostly of musicians who had belonged to maestro Seguí’s orchestra and for this he had the collaboration of maestros Tito Rodríguez and Tito Puente. .
After forming a second group, Willie Rosario and his orchestra recorded their first album entitled “El Bravo Soy Yo” in 1963. That was the beginning of a prolific career in which he has left over 40 record productions that have been heard around the world.
High-level singers such as Gilberto Santarosa, Tony Vega and Chamaco Rivera have passed through his orchestra, as well as musicians of the stature of Bobby Valentín, Humberto Ramírez and Jimmie Morales, among others.
Among the most recognized successes of the outstanding group are “La Mitad”, “Mi Amigo el Payaso”, “El Callejero”, “Anuncio Clasificado” and “Lluvia”, the latter in the voice of two greats of the genre, Gilberto Santa Rosa and Tony Vega, among many more numbers.
His career has earned him different recognitions, such as being the first Puerto Rican salsa orchestra nominated for the Grammy Awards in the Best Tropical Performance category in 1987, with the production of “Nueva Cosecha”, an exaltation to the Puerto Rico Hall of Fame. Rico, four gold records and two platinum.
In the same way, he obtained the Agüeybaná de Oro award, the ACE award, the Paoli award and the Estrella award for his musical excellence delivered by SBS Broadcasting.
And following more than six decades delighting his own, there is still “finishing” in maestro Rosario. In an interview with Primera Hora, the legendary percussionist made it clear that he has no intention of leaving the stage yet.
”You have to pass the baton. Life is that way and I am very happy that there is a lot of talent, and a lot of young talent, because that way our music will continue to be very heavy. But we are still around here and I can’t find the baton, to pass it on, ”he stressed.
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