Ismael Rivera
Biography Ismael Rivera
Ismael Rivera
Born in 1931, Rivera was raised in a modest family that lived in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He left school at a young age to help his family by working as a shoeshiner and bricklayer. Inspired by the bomba and plena genres bubbling up in local barrios, he started playing music with Rafael Cortijo, his childhood friend.
Rivera (also known by his nickname, “Maelo”) would end up joining the latter’s band, Cortijo y su Combo, as a singer. Their exhilarating, rhythmic music became hugely popular with audiences from Puerto Rico to New York City, and they ultimately recorded 17 albums together.
This collaboration came to an end in 1962, after Rivera was arrested on drug possession charges and served four years at the notorious U.S. Narcotics Farm prison in Kentucky. Following his prison stint, Rivera moved to New York City, where he sang for Fania’s All Star live performances.
As a solo artist, the singer would go on to release 11 albums that showed off his natural knack for improvising, many with his band, Sus Cachimbos. “El Sonero Mayor,” writes AllMusic, “would go on to record some of his best work…showcasing his unequaled talent [that’s] better than ever.” Among that work: Bienvenido!, his energetic comeback, and the somewhat experimental, but no less effective, Controversia. This success culminated in him performing at a 1974 concert at the prestigious Carnegie Hall. That same year Rivera and Cortijo would reunite and release Juntos otra vez.
But it was Rivera’s own release in 1974, Traigo de todo, that changed his life. It coincided with his spiritual awakening, particularly his devotion to Cristo Negro (or Black Christ). His track “El Nazareno,” a bright, divine affirmation punctuated by deftly dropped lyrical cadences, celebrates the venerated Cristo Negro statue in Panama. The track is his invocation to humanity and loyalty, but also to his agency in choosing a path to redemption. “It’s one of his greatest lyrical narratives, delivered as no one else could,” Bandcamp writes.
In fact, much of Traigo de todo finds the liberated Rivera simply celebrating life. “Qué te pasa a ti” is a groove-driven, wistful musing about an irresistible romance. Meanwhile, the good-times title track, “Traigo de todo,” is an incantation beckoning the listener to dance.
His last performance came in 1978, opening for Bob Marley in Paris. By 1982, Rivera had fallen into a depression following Cortijo’s death due to pancreatic cancer, and his own health began to suffer. The singer passed away suddenly, from a heart attack, just two years later at age 55. He is said to have died in his mother’s arms. His was a prolific career cut far shorter than it should have, but lives long — eternally, even — in legacy.
