Maribel Delgado was born in 1979 in Camuy, Puerto Rico. From an early age she developed a special love for the cuatro. Her inspiration came from listening to her father and grandfather play the instrument on Camuy’s starry nights.
She has worked on stage and compact discs productions alongside today’s great cuatristas. Maribel graduated from the Universidad Interamericana with a degree in Music Education. Today she teaches music theory in the Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan. Maribel Delgado accomplished an important milestone in 2003 when she became the first Puerto Rican female to record a solo album entitled El Cuatro Puertorriqueño en Manos de una Mujer.
For Maribel’s Spanish version biography visit:
Sample Maribel’s music with YouTube:
Ever since Pedro Guzmán was born under the sign of Scorpio, in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, he always wanted to be a musician. At the age of 5, Pedrito played an imaginary guitar while listening to the radio with his mother… so naturally, at Christmastime he asked his parents for a plastic guitar. At the age of 9 he learned to play his first three chords from teacher and life-long friend, Mr. Silverio Perez. From grade school band and choirs, to a duo with his sister, his youth was immersed in music. At 14 he began to take formal music classes, studying the guitar and bass, and to play professionally in a quintet as a bassist for Cuqui Rodriguez. Encouraged by the fact that his fellow musician interpreted some themes on the cuatro, Pedrito began to express a few opinions of his own through this instrument. Since 1970 he has participated in numerous salsa and jazz groups, touring and recording from Puerto Rico to Peru to the Unites States. For 7 years he played bass and cuatro for singer Felito Felix.
In the 1980’s Pedrito joined groups including Haciendo Punto en Otro Son for Los Rayos Gama, Jose Nogueras y su Orquesta Estival, and El Grupo Clandestino of Emanuel "Sunshine" Logroño. In 1987 he created and organized the group "JIBARO JAZZ", beginning to play the Puerto Rican cuatro as a soloist. The group actually began as a joke over the phone by comedian "Sunchine" Logroño, who suggested that some jibaros should form a jazz group to play at the inauguration of a business for Puerto Rican producer Luis Vigoreaux. Although the inauguration never materialized, at that moment Pedrito admitted that he liked the idea of forming a group that would go by the name of "JIBARO JAZZ". Thus, the project began to take shape, and within a month he recorded a demo tape with the theme "Descarga Machuca", to present the concept to producers. The first presentation of "JIBARO JAZZ" was a quartet in 1987, in a convention at the Mayagüez Hilton Hotel. The original members of the group were Mr. Eggy Castrillo (güicharo), Mr. Mario César Rios (guitar), Mr. Iván Martinez (bongo drum) and of course, Pedro Guzmán (cuatro), along with a few interventions made by trovador Jerry Rodriguez.
Through the tireless dedication of Pedro Guzmán, the cuatro has not only transcended national borders, but cultural boundaries, as well. The basic structure of "JIBARO JAZZ" is the same one that you would find in any typical group from the mountains of Puerto Rico: cuatro, guitar, güicharo and conga, with the additional presence of drums. Even though the traditional line-up is respected, the musicians follow a jazz approach in their execution, exploring all the possibilities of their instruments in the moment of performance. On most occasions the cuatro establishes the melody that breaks from tradition to enter the exploration of new forms through improvisation. Not only do the horizons of Puerto Rican and Caribbean music broaden, but, in the cuatro, jazz acquires an instrument with a solo voice and its own legitimate personality capable of making permanent contributions to this genre.
In 1987, "JIBARO JAZZ" made its first commercial recording. The group has performed at the Centro de Bellas Artes and the Heineken Jazz Festival in San Juan, has had the honor of presenting three times at the Blue Note Club in New York City, and most recently at the Fifteenth Festival of Jazz of Curacao. In addition to award-winning recordings as Pedro Guzman and His Cuatro Rumbero with Jibaro Jazz, Pedro has made innumerable other recordings, with artists and groups including Danny Rivera, Tony Croatto, Jose Nogueras, Los Cantores de San Juan, Freddy Gutiérrez, Lugo Robert, Descarga Boricua, Haciendo Punto en Otro Son, Orchestra La Luz, Nicky Aponte, Roy Brown, Bobby Valentin, Especial de Navidad del Banco Popular, Felito Felix, Antonio Cabán "El Topo", Willie Colón, Plena Libre, Charlie Sepulveda, Rie Akayi, Cucco Peña, Tito Gómez, Grammy award winner Nestor Torres, Orquesta Puetorriqueña de Don Perignon and Lucesita Benitez.
For Pedro’s Spanish version biography visit:
Qiuque Doménech was born June 6, 1974 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. His parents are Hector E. Doménech Valle and Helen Avilés Abreu. He has a younger sister named Yvette. Quique attended Sacred Hearts College in Guaynabo were he began his musical career when he joined the choir group Corazones Unidos in 1980. It was then when he first stepped into a recording studio and recorded a Christmas album with the choir. Quique started playing the Cuatro at the age of six. He studied under Mr. Manuel Morgado for two years in Bayamón. In 1985 he began studying musical theory at the Cultural Institute of Puerto Rico. After graduating he joined the Cuarto Orchestra under the guidance of maestro Francisco López Cruz. He went on to graduate from the Escuela Superiror del Colegio Marista of Guaynabo in 1992. It was there he joined the group “Renacer Campesino" which he was part of for 10years.
In 1994 he, along with others, appeared on the musical soundtrack for the motion picture, Guagua Aérea, which was about Cuatrista Luis Molina. In addition to being able to play the Puerto Rican Cuatro, Quique is a talented young man and also plays guitar, el tres cubano, bass guitar and the Venezuelan Cuatro. At only 30 years of age, Quique has performed with the following artists: Vicente Carattini y Los Cantores, Danny Rivera, Pedro Guzmán, Luis Miranda, Edwin Colón Zayas, Hossanas de Borinquen, Elías Lopés, Los Hispanos, Andrés Jimenez, Ismael Miranda, Ruben Blades and many, many other talented and well known artists.
Quique has appeared as a guest on CD’s by other artists such as Humberto Ramírez, José “Furito” Ríos and Danny Rivera. Quique also produced the Tony Croatto y Quique Doménech CD, En Armonía, which earned him his first Tu Musica award in 2004. He has been twice a Grammy Nominee.
For Quique’s Spanish version biography visit:
For a preview of Quique's music visit:
www.youtube.com/watch
Elias Lopés was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico on February 7th, 1945. He began studying music at 10 years old in Escuela Libre de Música in San Juan. Upon completing high school, he started studying in the Conservatorio de Música de PR, where he stayed for five years. As a student, Elias was the first Trumpet player on the Student Orchestra and the Cojunto de Metales.
He began his career as a professional trumpet player in 1958 with different orchestras like Mario Ortiz’s Orchestra, Moncho Usera and Charlie Fisk Orchestra, among others. At nineteen, he was the first trumpet and musical director for El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, where he remained for five and a half years. In 1969, he co-founded, with Roberto Roena, the Apollo Sound, where he was a music arranger, first trumpet, and musical director for three years. He worked several years as a free-lancer in Puerto Rico hotels, where he played with various famous musicians.
In 1976, he was first trumpet and musical director for the creation of Puerto Rico All Stars. Elias traveled to the Havana Jam with Fania All Stars in 1979, and belonged to the CBS Jazz Stars, with the best American musicians. In 1980, he introduced salsa music to Chile, and was invited as a solo artist to Don Francisco’s Sabado Gigante TV Program. Elias Lopés was the first Puerto Rican musician to strengthen the orchestra at Viña del Mar as first trumpet.
On November 1st, 1979, he founded his Orchestra, Elias Lopés & Co., which has been a landmark orchestra for greatly celebrated occasions and events. In 1986 the concept of Trumpets with Troubadours was born, reaching new heights in Puerto Rican traditional folk music. This project was able to maintain Puerto Rican traditional music active year-around, and not just at Christmas time. He has worked in many commercial recordings such as records, jingles, etc.
Elias Lopés has received several awards: Dijo Prize for Trumpet of the Year, Agueybana Prize for Musical Director and Orchestra for the Year, Paoli Prize for Musical Arranger of the Year. In 1992, “The National Salsa Day” was dedicated to him and other colleagues.
For the past years, Elias has played the National Hymns at Inauguration Ceremonies for the Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League.
For Elias’ Spanish version biography visit:
The Chicago Cuatro Orchestra is a community musical group owned by Music Express, Inc. This is a private music store and music academy directed by two professional music teachers, Orlando and David Rivera. (The Chicago Cuatro Orchestra is featured in the PRAA online video.) The Orchestra was founded in 1996 with the purpose of creating awareness about Puerto Rico’s national string instrument (el cuatro), the Puerto Rican folkloric (jíbaro) music, and the need of creating a Cuatro Festival in the city of Chicago.
The Orchestra has one recorded production and has performed at many important venues throughout the City of Chicago. Among these venues are the Chicago Symphony Center, Chicago Theater, The Auditorium Theater at Roosevelt University, Copernicus Theater, The Chicago Historical Society, The Chicago Museum of History, The Children's Museum, The Field Museum and many other important cultural events around Chicago, Milwaukee and Indiana. Future plans for the Chicago Cuatro Orchestra are to accomplish more recording productions, to multiply the concept and create awareness about the national string instrument of Puerto Rico throughout other cities where Puerto Ricans live, and to one day create the first Puerto Rican Cuatro National Orchestra in the United States.
10th Annual Cuatro Festival Welcome
Ticket Sales Information
Parking, Directions, and other information
1440 N. Sacramento Ave., Chicago, IL 60622 T: 773-342-8865 F: 773-342-6887