Every year, Cuatro music predominates Puerto Rican music during the Three Kings and Christmas season. This year the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance is proud to announce its theme for the festival: El Cuatro en Navidad or Cuatro during Christmas. This theme is probably self-evident to many Puerto Ricans, but is sure to provide other attendees an insight on how the cuatro instrument is utilized to evoke a mix of positive cultural holiday emotions among one of Chicago’s oldest Latino communities. Enjoy an unforgettable evening of non-stop music at the 2007 Cuatro Festival!

For the fifth year, Exelon Corporation is honored to be the presenting sponsor of the Annual Puerto Rican Cuatro Festival. The Festival is an outstanding celebration of Puerto Rican music and culture. The Cuatro Festival is an excellent opportunity for everyone to understand and appreciate the rich Puerto Rican history and enjoy the creativity of its musicians. We at Exelon, salute the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance for its outstanding efforts to promote cultural identity among Chicago's diverse community.

John W. Rowe
Chairman, President and CEO
Exelon

The tradition continues. This Ninth Annual Cuatro Festival promises to be a culminating cultural event for 2007, which reflects the dedicated efforts of the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance, and Los Amigos Del Cuatro. Indeed the strength and permanence of any human culture depends greatly on sustaining its history, values, art, music and cultural identity for future generations. The Puerto Rican Arts Alliance has become a uniquely effective community institution that is successfully implementing this important acculturation process within the Puerto Rican Community of Chicago. Through its school partnership programs, professional development workshops for teachers, and community outreach programs and exhibitions, it is enlightening future generations by nurturing the roots of our past, and strengthening who we are as Puerto Ricans in America. We thank our loyal sponsors and the many volunteers that have made the special event possible this evening, and we especially thank you, our friends and families, for your continuing support of this vital work.

Paul Roldan
Chairman, Los Amigos del Cuatro
Los Amigos del Cuatro

Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University. The Auditorium Theatre is located at 50 E. Congress Parkway (between Michigan and Wabash). Parking, Directions, and other information.

Prodigio Claudio is an excellent cuatro player and the world’s most important musician in his genre. Prodigio Claudio was born to Puerto Rican parents on October 30, 1968 in Hoboken, New Jersey. His father, Eligio Claudio Roldán, and his mother, María Socorro Díaz, decided to move to Puerto Rico in 1977, settling in the city of Caguas. As a young boy, Prodigio showed great interest in the cuatro, because his father enjoyed giving parrandas during the very cold New Jersey winters. Prodigio would join him in the parrandas, despite the fact that he did not understand Spanish. Nevertheless, his father noticed that he took the cuatro and tried to make music with it. Because of this, as soon as they moved to Puerto Rico, his father registered him to take classes with Tomás Roldán in Caguas. When the teacher saw the child’s talent, he told his parents that he should be taking classes with a professional and recommended Don Maso Rivera. Prodigio’s father started taking him to Toa Alta, where he spent only seven months. Then, Don Maso told Prodigio that what he needed was experience and that this "he would get in the street". Since then, Prodigio started to see the results of his efforts when he traveled to Chicago in 1982. At that time, he was the youngest in the group that played with Ramito in the Teatro de Puerto Rico de Turín Acevedo. Later, he traveled to Hawaii where he also played with Ramito and continued mastering his talent in the street, as the maestro Don Maso Rivera had indicated.

At the age of thrirteen he joined Los Pleneros del Quinto Olivo, where he became known among the greatest and the name of Prodigio del cuatro started to be known as well. From then on, he has participated with El Gan Combo, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Raphy Leavitt, Bonny Cepeda, Elías López, Chamaco Ramírez and for many years he accompanied Tavín Pumarejo. Then he joined the group Jataca and José Nogueras.

Currently, he is teaching cuatro classes and giving talks in the United States, besides presentations and concerts in the best theaters of the world with the Puerto Rican cuatro. He has his own group called Prodigio y su cuatroson, has his own recording studio where he produces his recordings and helps promote young talents achieve their dreams. He has recorded twenty-three compact discs as a soloist. He also was the first cuatro player that filmed an instructional video for the cuatro in 1999. He has participated in great concerts in Spain, France, Venezuela, Colombia, Santo Domingo, Los Angeles, Chicago, México, Georgia, Indianapolis, Hawaii and many other places. As a historic fact, in 2006 Prodigio was the first cuatro player to give ten concerts in Japan from Yokohama to Tokio, along with Japanese flautist Rie Akagi. The name of the tour was El cuatro en Japón. It was the first time that a cuatro player achieved the task of putting the cuatro flag in the infinite of the world.

In 2003 he produced the recording Prodigio y el cuatro rinden tributo a El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, breaking sales records in Puerto Rico, the United States and Japan with over 90,000 copies sold. In 2006 he celebrated his 30 years in the rhythm of the cuatro. It began in May with a grand concert in New York, which he dedicated to cuatro player Yomo Toro.

Prodigio Claudio is the winner of Premio Paoli for Best cuatro player in 1995 and Premio Tu Música for Best Christmas recording in 2004. He also had the honor to be the guest cuatro player in anniversary events for El Gran Combo and Raphy Leavitt y la Selecta. He is the most important cuatro player worldwide, thanks to his achievements in fulfilling the expectations of the Puerto Rican cuatro lovers.

Mapeyé is a musical group that aims to promote authentic Puerto Rican music in its maximum expression. It utilizes the cuatro, guitar, güiro and bongos to provide a richness of Puerto Rican music that is converted into today’s urban setting in Puerto Rico.

The cultivation of the sung and improvised décima as a very important part of our cultural tradition is a constant in the group. It not only uses the fine expressions of our most awarded poets, but also those of our popular poets or troubadours. In this way the different variants of the seis and aguinaldo and other genres interpreted in different parts of the island can be demonstrated.

Along with this determination is the will to spread the musical expressions of our composers in the different rhythms such as danza, mazurca, vals, pasodoble, bolero, pasillo, criolla, polka, marimba, and guaracha, among others. The effect that can be accomplished with the harmony of the cuatros, gives the music creations a well balanced expressive force, without losing its native essence.

The group was founded in 1978. Since then, it has been working uninterruptedly as a worshiper of our native music until this day. As ambassadors of goodwill, they have represented Puerto Rico and its music in events such as: the Festival Mundial de la Guitarra in Martinica, Festival de la Cultura Caribeña in Santiago de Cuba, Encuentro de Trovadores y Payadores in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Festival de la Parranda in Trinidad y Tobago, Festival Cultural Caribeño in Venezuela, Festival de la Cultura de Cancún, Feria Internacional de libro en Guadalajara, México, Festival de Artesanía in Santiago de Chile, Encuentro Mundial de la Décima y el Verso Improvisado in Islas Canarias, Spain, Festival de la Tradición Vallenata in Valledupar, Colombia, Festival del Cucalambé in Las Tunas, Cuba, La Cumbre Taijín en Veracruz, México, Encuentro de la Décima y el Verso Improvisado in Málaga, Spain. In the United States of America Mapeyé has offered concerts in Chicago, Boston, New York, Hartford, Texas, Ohio, California, Florida, Washington and New Jersey.

Among their recordings, the most outstanding are Al son de Mapeyé, Mapeyé…sabe a tradición, Mapeyé criollo y más, Mapeyé …vienen mis montes trovando, Encuentro de Amigos vol. I y II, Juan Antonio Corretjer Vivo, Ciales en dos tiempos, Entreverando Canciones, Homenaje a Chuito el de Bayamón con Andrés Jiménez, Cumbre Criolla, Vieques Tierra para la paz, Parrandas que llegan Vol. I y II and Del Jauca al Portugués.

Felito Félix was born in Cidra, Puerto Rico. At the early age of seven, he showed his artistic curiosity. By then, he used to sing at parties in his town. At the age of ten, he showed his skills as a composer and playwright, for he liked to improvise movielike stories and explained all its details to his neighborhood friends that liked to gather to listen to his narratives.

At the age of twelve he built his own small guitar out of a sardine cans and his interest in music began. This was not of his father’s liking, who did not stop emphasizing that musicians always lived with an uncertain future. His dad ended up breaking his guitar.

When he was thirteen, he founded his first trío, which he named Los Sultanes. At fourteen he participated with that trío in a trío contest in the Don Rafael Quiñones show on WKAQ. They took the contest by storm winning the prize and also the chance to appear on television. Here they confirmed their success on their first appearance in the small screen.

Two years later the trío became disintegrated and, in search for better opportunities, Felito moved to Camden, New Jersey. After some time, he arrived in New York. The music business experts showed interest in Felito. This is how Felito became a member of the most popular trío of that time: the Trío de Rey Arroyo. Shortly after, he became a member of the famous trío of the legendary Cheíto González. He was also part of the following tríos: Los Murcianos, Los del Río and Los Borincanos. This is when The Four Amigos came about. With them he traveled to the greatest stages around the world. By then Felito lived in Hollywood among international stars of the music and film industry like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Samy Davis, The Beatles and many others. He has been the only singer to record with the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley.

Later, he decided to become a soloist and in 1961 recorded the hit Mi Magdalena for Serenata Records. Then, he signed with Gema Records in Puerto Rico and recorded two long plays that included such hits as El Carretero and No te Amé.

In 1977 he produced for his own record label, DIX Records, original compositions such as Luz del alma mía, A escondidas te veré and A la deriva. At this time, an international record company took interest in Felito and in 1979 he signed with Caytronic Records. Some of the songs that became known internationally are Ya no eres la misma de ayer, Rosas sin espinas, En vano, Contra viento y marea and Porque me gustas. This last song has been recorded by many other artists.

Today Felito produces his own recordings and does his own promotion. Until now, he has been able to record around fifty music productions, including his very own music compositions. Also, he has recorded along other great artists like Felipe Rodríguez, La Voz; Vicente Carattini y los Cantores de San Juan, Aníbal Vázquez, Los Four Amigos, Grupo Jataca, Awilda, La Mimosa and El Gran Combo. He composed, produced and recorded the Hymn of Cidra. He also works on video productions for television like En Pura Navidad, Gracias Señor and De Regreso en Navidad. His most recent production is the musical Especial para las Madres. On this show, Felito performs the hit song Madre Querida along with the Mariachi México and the Orquesta Los Universitarios from the University of Puerto Rico, Carolina campus; along with other great artists where scenes from Puerto Rico and its traditions can be seen.

Felito Félix is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter internationally known and has been awarded many times with recognitions such as, Premios Ace, Premios Agüeybana, Premios Diplo, Premios Coquí from the University of Puerto Rico, Premios Tu Música, Billboard, Ascap, and many others. His unique showman style has made him a public’s favorite. Puerto Rico, the United States, Hawaii, Japan, Philipines and Latin America have been center stage for his successful presentations.

Not many singers and songwriters can perform in different music genres and Felito Félix has demonstrated to have an extraordinary talent when he composes and interprets from a romantic ballad like A escondidas te veré, an aguinaldo like Luz del alma mía, a calypso like Rosa del atardecer, a plena like Ya llegó, a delicious merengue like Mi linda Mariné and a patriotic song like Puertorriqueño de corazón.

Felito is a person that not only Puerto Ricans should feel proud of having, but all Latinos as well. Felito is a Latin artist that is able to express our sentiments, culture and even our history through Caribbean rhythms and prose. Felito is known to be a Boricua who makes history and a true Puerto Rican with lots of heart!

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 the 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 in 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 Museum, The Field Museum and many other important cultural events around Chicagoland, 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.