Sylvia Rexach

There she attended public school and received her primary education. She then went to a private school where she finished her secondary education before attending the Central High School of Santurce. During her high school years, when she was 14 years old, she wrote several poems which were to become part of her musical compositions. She amazed her teachers when she composed "Di, Corazón" (Tell me, Heart) and "Matiz de Amor" (Calm Love). Rexach also learned how to play musical instruments, such as the guitar, the piano and the saxophone at a young age. The tones of Rexach's compositions varied from the soft and romantic to the harsh and tormented. Among her compositions that became hits in Puerto Rico and abroad were: "Alma Adentro" (Inner Soul, actually a homage to a brother who died in an accident), "Idilio", "Olas y Arenas" (Waves and Sands), "Mi Versión" (My Version), "Nave sin Rumbo" (Wandering Ship), "Di, Corazón" and "Matiz de Amor". She even wrote a humorous novelty song, "Cuchú cuchía", which features Rafael Hernández Marín as a co-composer. Described as "exquisitely fine" and relying on nostalgia and beauty to grasp the listener, Rexach's work was also popular in Venezuela, Mexico, Argentina and Peru, among other Spanish-speaking countries. Her compositions have been recorded by many other artists, such as Marco Antonio Muñiz, Danny Rivera, Gilberto Monroig, Chucho Avellanet, Lucecita Benítez, Juan Luis Barry, Linda Ronstadt, Ednita Nazario, Lourdes Pérez, Lunna, and Maritzaida. Two television specials were made about Sylvia's life, "Sylvia, en tu Memoria" (Sylvia, in your Memory) and Ángela Meyer's "El fondo del Dolor" (In the Deepest Pain) starring Sharon Riley, Sylvia's daughter. She worked as a radio station as a comical script writer, first for producer Tommy Muñiz, and later for comedian Ramón Rivero "Diplo". She was the founder of the first Combo in Puerto Rico consisting entirely of women. They were named Las Damiselas (The Damsels), and besides Rexach included: Idalia Rosario, Marta Romero, Millita Quiñones, Elena Rita Ortiz, and Ketty Cabán. In 1951, Rexach had a newspaper column called "A Sotto Voce", where she was a music critic. She was also a co-founder of The Puerto Rican Society of Authors, Composers and Music Editors (Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Autores, Compositores y Editores de Música). Musicologist Cristóbal Díaz Ayala described Rexach as "virtually unclassifiable" within the Latin American music of her time, noting how her boleros projected frank sexuality and a calm defiance unusual for the genre. Hyuke described Rexach as not only an artist, but a "skillfull and shrewd writer of great humorist blood, who also possessed an unlimited imagination and creativity". Her writing has been described as "dreamy" and "ahead of her time".

• Birth Name — Sylvia Regina Rexach González • Born — 22 January 1922 • Birthplace — Santurce, Puerto Rico • Died — 20 October 1961 • Place of death — San Juan, Puerto Rico • Genre — Bolero • Occupation — * Comedy scriptwriter • poet • singer • composer

While graduating first grade at Escuela Padre Rufo, Rexach was tasked with reciting the poem Analfabeta. In 1932, she joined her sister Dinorah in playing the "heralds of spring" in an event organized by Carmelia Herrera of Central High School. The following year, both girls were cast as jockeys in Reinado Infantil: La Corte del Circo as part of the San Juan Carnival. In 1935, she participated in another school event at La Fortaleza. In 1937, Rexach sisters participated in the Baile Internacional, an event regarded as "traditional" in those days, as part of the delegation that represented Scotland. In March 1937, she was honored at the Puerto Rico Bar Association's building. At the Baile de Coronación del Rey del Palacete, Rexach served as the third year ambassador. Later that year, Rexach appeared as one of the Three Spirit Genies in an adaptation of Mozart's The Magic Flute. She returned to the Baile Internacional in 1938, serving as the flag bearer of the United Kingdom in an edition held at the Ballajá Barracks. In August 1938, Rexach debuted as part of the play Cuando las flores de pascua son flores de azahar, a comedy of local traditions that was presented at Teatro Paramount. During the winter, she made a presentation at the Casino de Puerto Rico, singing "Mama, Oh, Mama" and was already promoted as a child artist. The following year, Rexach played the court's in an adaptation Giuseppe Verdi's Rigoletto organized by the Central High School's Music Department. Later that year, she was part of a té danzante dance held in honor of Frieda de Galindo. Rexach began her artistic career at the age of 13, having learned how to play the guitar, saxophone and piano. By 1940, Rexach began gaining recognition for the "beauty" of her compositions, when her bolero Matiz de Amor was sung by Josefina Guillermety de Buscaglia in a dance to help Emma Cardona's candidacy to Reina de Mayo of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR). When actor Errol Flynn visited Puerto Rico two months later, he commented on the bolero after Rafael Muñoz and his orchestra played a rendition in his honor. She kept a public profile from that moment onwards making appearances in small events, like a swimming contest in the Escambrón Beach Club and a té danzante organized by the Gamma Gamma sorority. At the age of 15, Rexach's compositions were already well received in Latin America and parts of the United States. By the age of 21, Rexach had composed 22 boleros, among which were also "Matiz de Amor", "Amargo Amanecer" and "Flor de Amor". In 1943, "Amargo Amanecer" won recognition in a contest held at New York. In Puerto Rico, Rafael Muñoz and his orchestra debuted "Flores de Amor" at the Normandie Hotel. Local cultural magazine La Voz Antillana described her music as "something that raises our spirits and makes us reborn in the hope of something that we never dreamed of". She was joined by half a dozen women from Puerto Rico in these corps. In February 1943, it was announced that Rexach would be traveling abroad to continue superior studies. By August, she had concluded her WAACs basic training at Fort Devens in Massachusetts. While there, she was often asked to sing in clubs, parties and hospitals near the base. In one such visit, a group of Puerto Rican soldiers asked her to sing "La Borinqueña" to them, she took notice of their emotional response. With other artists in the WAACs, Rexach went on tour to Southern California, making stops to perform at various military facilities and Hollywood. In January 1949, Rexach joined the Cofradía de Artistas Nómadas in an event held at La Fortaleza. In August 1949, Trío Los Murcianos recorded the Rexach and Rafael Hernández collaboration "El amor es una cruz", which was distributed by Casa Mardi. By the end of this year, the local media was already referring to her as a "first order composer". She was one of a group of young Puerto Rican women that were becoming prolific writers, along Aurea Mercedes Balseiro and Ivonne Lastra. Rexach joined Ramito, Diplo and Bobby Capó in a tour to New York, where they made appearances at the Teatro Puerto Rico. During the holidays, Rexach would join Tuti Umpierre, Edmusdo Disdier and other friends to organize parrandas, traditional door to door concerts. Fellow composer Amaury Veray was among his friends. In February 1950, she attended a concert by pianist Glauco D'Atilli at Santurce along her brother Antonio. Two months later, Rexach performed at the Luquillo Country Club as a part of a trio along Millita Quiñones and Elena Rita Ortiz that became known as Las Damiselas, which was accompanied by pianist Andrés Tallada. During the summer, she wrote the script of an episode of WAPA's Como nacieron mis canciones about Puerto Rico's more prolific composer, Rafael Hernández. Rexach and Las Damiselas were brought to perform in a Monday prime time slot at WTIL, which recorded at Teatro San José Mayaguez.

In 1950, Rexach wrote Como nacieron mis canciones for WAPA-TV, featuring dramatizations of Hernández's music. She also anticipated that, due to the world becoming easier to travel, dances like the Colombian porro and Venezuelan joropo would become known internationally. The show ran throughout the summer. During this time, Rexach also sang with Ketty Cabán as the first voice in a duo. In the role as a radio writer, she was responsible for convincing Tommy Muñiz to cast her friend Alma Rosabal de Balines for ¡Que sirvienta!. Besides this show, Rexach also wrote Familia Pérez, Gloria y Miguel, Lluvia de Estrellas, Caravana Camel and Canciones sobre el arcoiris along the producer, José Miguel González and A. Guadalupe. In April 1951, she and Las Damiselas made an appearance at the Coamo Hot Springs along José Miguel Agrelot, Muñiz and other artists. Later in the month, the group joined both of them and Ramón Rivero, Juan Boria, Jose Luis Torregrosa, Pérez Navarro, Violeta Flores, the Pérez Rodríguez duo and the cast of El Colegio de la Alegría in a star studded show held at Teatro Metropolitan in San Juan. This collective of artists was responsible for raising funds for the San Juan Olympic Track Club. Rexach and Las Damiselas were booked to perform at New York. In June 1951, journalist Ernesto Juan Fonfrías donated a locale so that the Sociedad de Autores, Compositores y Editores de Música (SACEM) could organize, when the organization's board for the following year was constituted Rexach was elected to serve in it. That same week, she and Las Damiselas joined the transmission of several WKAQ shows from Camp Buchanan. In April 1951, Rexach participated in a fundraiser for the San Juan Olympic Club held at Teatro Metropolitan in Santurce. The group joined Muñiz, Boria, Ramón Moreno and the cast of El Colegio de la Alegría at the Colonia Hispanoamericana at Bayamón. Rexach continued balancing the different aspects of her career and making occasional appearances with Las Damiselas, such as in a concert held to celebrate the "Day of the Accountant" in May 1952, joining Torregrosa, Trío Los Sultanes and Carmencita Figueroa. In June 1952, Rexach participated in a homage to composer Manuel G. Tavárez held at Teatro La Perla in Ponce. She also had a participation at the Sociedad de Ingenieros de Puerto Rico's annual assembly held at the Cangrejos Yacht Club and her comedy was interpreted in various events sponsored by Chevrolet and Chrysler at Caribe Motors. On January 29, 1953, the show Fiesta Caribe Motors began transmitting through WKAQ, WPAB and WKJB with Rexach writing the comedy segments. Las Damiselas continued active making appearances appearance in various venues, such as Esther Comas' La Bodega and Don's Night Club. In May 1953, they joined an event sponsored by Palmolive that gathered several artists and acts from radio and theater at Teatro Tapia. When actor José Ferrer and the Instituto Psicopedagógico joined to promote the debut of the 1952 film Moulin Rouge, the trio was brought in to perform at the gala. During the summer, Sylvia Rexach y su Combo made theatre presentations which were well received by the public. In February 1954, Rexach presented and directed the Show de Futuras Estrellas de Televisión at Teatro Caparra with bringing in several young performers expected to make the crossover to the then-nascent media of television. The following month, she was tasked with organizing the Baile de Artistas at Club Tres Plamas along Mario Cox, opting for an existential masks theme. In October 1954, Rexach wrote the primetime Fiesta a las nueve for WKAQ-TV, featuring Rafael Hernández, produced by Publicidad Badillo and directed by Consuelo Rivera de Otero. Besides Las Damiselas, Rexaah also created Las Golondrinas, appearing in radio, theatre and television both in Puerto Rico and abroad. In November 1955, Rexach and Las Damiselas were featured in a tele-marathon to raise funds for the Sociedad Pro Bienestar de Niños con Parálisis Cerebral, a non profit that aided children with cerebral palsy. Meanwhile, he songs continued gathering attention, when Bobby Capó adapted the bolero ¿Y entonces?. In October 1956, Rexach participated in a tele-marathon organized by the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) aired through WAPA-TV. In January 1957, Gilberto Thillet recorded her song "En mis sueños". During the summer, the Instituto de Puerto Rico of New York organized a concert at Broadway 2542 where singer Rafael Dick and pianist Jorge González sang her songs as an homage. During the summer of 1958, Ralph Dick offered a concert of Rexach's work at San Juan. During this time, her music was called "classic within the popular genre". During this time, Pedro Vargas visited Puerto Rico and singled Rexach as the one person that impressed him, calling her a "great composer and artist" and noting that he intended to record an LP with her songs upon returning to Mexico. In July, Rexach announced that she was leaving to that country by the end of summer. However, in August she fell ill and had to undergo surgery at the Ashford Memorial Presbyterian Hospital. In October, WAPA-TV moved another show written by her, Rina y Tito, to the evening slot. In March 1959, she joined Jacobo Morales and others afiliated to the Asociación Puertorriqueña de Artistas in a caravan to help raise funds for the Hogar del Niño. During this time, Rexach also supported and attended the Festival de Teatro Puertorriqueño organized by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP). Her songs Yo era una flor was chosen by soprano Rina de Toledo, accompanied by pianist Elsa Rivera, Salgado when she performed at Teatro La Perla in Ponce during the 100th anniversary of Luis Muñoz Rivera. The soprano repeated this performance at Plaza Antonio R. Barceló, this time in a presentation sponsored by the ICP and the municipality of San Juan, and in July 1960 at the headquarters of the ICP. Tito Lara also adapted "Mi versión" for his album Un ídolo nuevo para América. In 1960, Spanish directors Juan Fortuny and Arturo Buendía selected four of Rexach's songs to be sung by Manolín Martínez in Probo Films' El Otro Camino. In May 1960 a collaboration between Rexach and Tuti Umpierre title "¿Que has hecho?" won the first place at the Festival de la Canción del Caribe representing Puerto Rico. In August 1960, Rexach returned to Teatro Tapia to support Eugene O'Neill's "Todos los hijos de Dios tienen alas " at the Festival Puertorriqueño de Teatro Universal. As part of SPACEM, she attended a horse racing event sponsored by the record label. In December 1960, Rexach collaborated with the UPR's faculty to raise Christmas bonus funds by providing the entertainment in a dinner. She also participated in the SPACEM general assembly. For writing the song "Mi versión", she was voted the female author of the year. Rexach received her trophy for this win in Show Ford. On January 12, 1961, she was elected part of the SPACEM board, taking the role of general secretary. During this time, Rexach joined the Asociación Puertorriqueña de Artistas y Técnicos de Espectáculos (APATE) in protests against Barry Yellen, who refused to include Puerto Rican talent in the San Juan Drama Festival. In February 1961, Myrta Silva debuted one of her songs. In April 1961, Rexach performed at a cocktail held at the Caribe Hilton, playing the piano and signing several of her own songs. Among the repertoire were some unreleased song, among which "Dios de Oro" gathered attention. Rexach described it as her "most profound song", a metaphor that takes human feelings and presents them as jewels. Her song "Rombie" was written as a homage to a fallen friend. That month she also received a homage by the Río Piedras Chamber of Commerce that was transmitted through local radio station WRIO. In life, her songs sung by some of the most notable artists from Puerto Rico and Latin America. However, heer music was considered "very good but not commercial ", for which only about half of her work received widespread distribution in Puerto Rico. Her health began deteriorating during the second half of the year, leading to several months of decline. In October 1961, Rexach was hospitalized in an intensive care unit at the Woman's Hospital in Santurce. The illness kept her inner circle concerned and constantly visiting her during the following days. After two weeks of treatment, Rexach died on October 20, 1961. Her wake took place at Funeraria Buxeda in her native Santurce, before being buried at Cementerio Buxeda in Isla Verde. A guitar was laid to rest along her body, it is unknown who brought the instrument to the burial. Rexach and her family were Catholic and the Holy Rosary for the Faithful Departed held for her was open to the public. At the time, it was reported that Rexach had died of cancer. She was an alcoholic during her final days. Her death certificate states the cause as an intestinal obstruction, complicated by a duodenal atresia. The funeral procession was attended by Puerto Ricans of various classes and municipalities. Her casket was carried by several artists, including musicians and composers. Rafael Hernández brought funeral wreath with the words "A mi hija blanca" and members of SPACEM carried a flag bearing the group's logo with them. She was buried at Cementerio Buxeda in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Her death continued being an island wide topic for days. Her music was acquired by Peer International Corporation of Puerto Rico. The following month, Rina de Toledo homaged her during a presentation at Teatro Popular at Santa Isabel by singing "Yo era una flor". A year after her death, radio stations dedicated special shows to her memory. Meanwhile, the Sociedad de Actores y Compositores held a ceremony at her resting place.

Rexach was born in Santurce to Julio Rexach Porrata and María Teresa González, one of seven siblings along Dinorah, María Teresa, Ena, Hilda and Lydia. Her father was a pharmacist and well known in the municipality. At the age of 14 she composed "Di, corazón". The song was recorded by Rafael Muñoz and his orchestra. It remained popular for decades, being recorded by José Luis Moneró and others. The arrangements of her first performance were charged at $4. Her aunt, Pepita González, was responsible for creating an ensemble that Rexach wore while performing "Di, corazón" in her artistic debut. Lucho Gatica recorded "Y entonces", which became one of her most successful international songs. Her repertoire was not written with commercialization in mind, being described as reflecting "a troubled soul, some autobiographical, and many distilling regret and pain". It included "Olas y Arenas", "Y Entonces Yo Era Una Flor", "Mi versión", "Mi subconciente amor". She often collaborated with guitarist Tuti Umpierre, one of her closest friends along fellow composer Katty Cabán. Rexach had three children, Sharon, Sylvia Jr. and William. After leaving piano classes as a child, Rexach learned to play by ear as a teenager and used this knowledge to organize a student orchestra at Central High. In life she was already regarded as one of the most renowned and beloved musical figures in Puerto Rico. Rexach began pre-legal courses at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras (UPR), but left before graduation to join the WACS (Women Army Corps Service). She married army officer William J. Riley, with whom she had three children, including actress/singer Sharon Riley. The marriage eventually ended in a divorce and she returned to Puerto Rico. Sharon Riley sang her songs, explaining that she knew how she liked them to be sung. Sylvita herself composed music. She lived most of her life at Parada 21 in Santurce and would host her friends there on Fridays. Her mother recognized her musical potential since a young age, contracting teacher Rosa Sicardó to instruct her, but she would often escape these classes to compose her own music. Of all the songs in her repertoire, "Olas y Arenas" was Rexach's favorite song and she would note this when it was played. After Rexach played "Di, corazón" in a Central High event at Escambrón in Puerta de Tierra, music professor Miguel Miranda approached her and recommended registering the piece. It only took a week for the song to be recorded afterwards. For radio she wrote Gloria y Miguel, La familia Pérez and Violeta Flores. Rexach was fond of the stories in Abelardo Díaz Alfaro's Terrazo, and the author shared this admiration back at her work. Following her death, Moneró recorded another of her songs, this time "Matiz de amor". Rexach first became involved with journalism by writing for El Diario de Puerto Rico. During the summer of 1955, her daughter Sharon Riley debuted in Pepe Caparra, where she interpreted the role of "Titina" niece of José Miguel Agrelot's titular character before joining Diplo in radio. In life, Rexach was described as a "notable and sincere composer". Rexach believed in independence for Puerto Rico and was an activist towards this goal. She was also regarded as a supporter of several progressive policies. During her youth she was regarded as a "tomboy" by some, due to being an athlete and enjoying physical activities like skating. She wrote an unpublished comedy book titled El último del Banco, o el último de la fila.