Hernández, Rafael

Hernández, Rafael

(1892–1965) composer; born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He was one of the most important figures in 20th-century popular Puerto Rican music, dividing his career between Puerto Rico, the U.S.A. (where he had the first "Latin" band in New York after World War I), Cuba, and Mexico. Works such as the "Lamento borincano," "Capullito de Alelí," and his masterpiece "Preciosa" were thought to express the soul of Puerto Rico.