Juan Morel Campos

• Name — Juan Morel Campos • Born — 16 May 1857 • Place of death — Ponce, Puerto Rico • Died — 12 May 1896 • Origin — Ponce, Puerto Rico • Genre — danza • Occupation — Composer, Founder of the Ponce Municipal Band

Morel Campos (full name: Juan Nepomuceno Morel Campos) was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Manuel Morel Araujo, from the Dominican Republic, and Juana de Dios Campos Collazo, from Venezuela. He began to study music at the young age of eight in his hometown under the guidance of Antonio Egipciaco. Morel Campos was a student of Puerto Rican composer and pianist Gonzalo de J. Núñez (1850 - 1915), whose students also included the internationally known musicians and composers Manuel Gregorio Tavárez and Arístides Chavier Arévalo. Morel Campos learned to play practically every brass instrument and eventually became one of the founders and directors of the "Ponce Firemen's Band" (La Banda de Bomberos del Parque de Bombas de Ponce). The legendary band was later renamed the Ponce Municipal Band.

The following is a list of some of Morel Campos's Danzas: • Conversación (Conversation) • Felices días (Happy Days) • Laura y Georgina (Laura and Georgina) • Idilio (Idyll) • Maldito amor (Damned Love) • No me toques (Do Not Touch Me) • Sin ti jamás (Never without you) • Sí, te toco (Yes, I will touch you) • Sueño de amor (Dream of love) • Ten piedad (Have pity) • Tormento (Torment) • Un conflicto (A conflict) • Vano empeño (Trying in vain) Domingo Cruz "Cocolía" became director of the Firefighters' Band upon the untimely death of Morel Campos.

• Illustration — Statue of Juan Morel Campos at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce Juan Morel Campos suffered a stroke on 26 April 1896 during a concert in Ponce. He died of the stroke soon thereafter on 16 May, in Ponce. In December 1926, his remains were buried on the pedestal of his statue in Plaza Las Delicias. His wife was Secundina Beltrán Collazo. Their children were Olimpia, Eugenia, Belén, Plácido, and Manuel.