Antonio Cabán Vale

Antonio Cabán Vale (aka "El Topo") (born November 22, 1942), is a guitarist, singer and composer of Puerto Rican folklore themes.

Early life

Cabán Vale was born and raised in the town of Moca, which is located in the western part of Puerto Rico, where he received his primary and secondary education. After he graduated from high school, he moved to San Juan and in 1961, enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico. During his student years at the university, he became known as "El Topo" and he wrote poems which were published in the university's publication "Guajana". In 1966, Cabán Vale earned his Bachelor's Degree in Arts and Social Sciences.^[1]

Musical career

For two years Cabán Vale earned a living as a public school teacher. In the 1970s, he began to add music to his poems and later founded a band which he named "Taone". He was the lead singer of the band through which he performed his compositions. His compositions contained simple verses and created a new style of popular folklore music which became popular in Puerto Rico. His musical style includes the use of those musical instruments which are typically Puerto Rican such as the "Cuatro" (a Puerto Rican guitar) and the "Guiro". Some of his compositions were popularized in many different versions. ^[1]

Verde Luz

One of Cabán Vale's most popular compositions was of the danza genre, titled Verde Luz (Green Light).^[1] Verde Luz has been interpreted by the late Argentine singer Ginamaría Hidalgo, and Puerto Rican singers Chucho Avellanet, Roy Brown, Lucecita Benitez, Tony Croatto, Lou Briel, Nano Cabrera, Carmen Nydia Velázquez, Jose Feliciano, Silverio Perez, and Dagmar.^[2]

Musical Compositions

Among the songs which Cabán recorded are the following:

• "Flor de Amapola" (Amapola Flower / Poppy);
• "Que Bonita Luna" (What a Beautiful Moon);
• "Donde vas Maria" (Where are you going Maria?);
• "Antonia";
• "Canciones de Amantes" (Songs for Lovers);
• "Verde Luz" (Green light);
• "La Patria Va";
• "Un Metro de Ternura"

Author

Cabán Vale has published two books with his poems; the first is entitled Un Lugar Fuera de Tiempo (A Place from Another Time) and is based on his experiences as a young man in his hometown Moca and the second Penultima Salida (The Exit Before the Last), deals with his personal quest in search for the "truth".^[1]

In 2001, the 6th International Book Fair celebrated at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan was dedicated to Antonio "El Topo" Cabán Vale.^[2]

See also

Puerto Rico portal

You may listen to "Verde Luz" by Antonio "El Topo" Caban Vale: Here

• List of famous Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rico
• Puerto Rican Songwriters

References