Edwin Colón Zayas

Edwin Colón Zayas (October 27, 1965), often called a genius and virtuous cuatrista (Cuatro player), is a highly accomplished musician of Puerto Rico, known for his use and promotion of the Puerto Rican cuatro, an instrument that plays like a guitar, but is shaped closer to the violin. He joins a large number of Puerto Rican artists, "innovative tradition-bearing," who focus their talents in extolling the virtues of the Puerto Rican creole and Jibaro way of life.

Early life

Zayas was born on October 27, 1965, in the town of Orocovis, Puerto Rico, to a family of musicians and folklorists. He was the eldest of five. At six, he began training with the Cuatro and the guitar with his parents.

Early career

File:Traditional style cuatro of Puerto Rico.jpg

Traditional Puerto Rican cuatro

In the 1980s, Zayas, the cuatrista, and arranger joined bands like the Jataca, Cimarrón, Areyto, Cumbre Criolla, Taller Boricua, the orchestra of Rafael de Jesús, Mapeyé, and the group of Andrés Jiménez. In 1982, he received the award, "Primer Premio Nacional del Cuatro," and his band, the Conjunto Típico de la Montaña, got the Medal of Culture from the Institute of the Puerto Rican Culture.

The 1990s and Zayas' Neo-Folklore

IN 1991, Zayas was the leading soloist in the San Juan Pops Orchestra in the Center of Fine Arts. That same year, he offered a Cuatro concert in the International Festival of the Guitar at the University of Puerto Rico. And, was sent to represent Puerto Rico in Mexico at the International Cervantes Festival. The next year, Zayas played his Cuatro with the famous guitar player Paco de Lucía in the Theater La Perla in Ponce as well as in the Center for Fine Arts, an event that coincided with the celebrations of the Fifth Centenary of the Encounter of Two Worlds. In 1994, Zayas and his band, "Taller Campesino," joined with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival for a series of performances at the DC Mall, and followed with a US tour. That year, he also participated in the Banco Popular's Christmas program with a runaway piece called, "Duelo de los Cuatros," with Pedrito Guzmán.

Current Times

In 2008, Zayas received a Latin Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Tropical Album for his album "Reafirmación" and the next year became a "NEA National Heritage Fellow." Zayas remains at the head of the band, "Taller Campesino," which continues to receive awards for its innovations and artistic leadership. While he includes nontraditional instruments to his folk music, he is still "considered by many to be among the purest performers of folk music." Zayas expressed his position about the power of folk culture to transform others: “I can... criollizar [creolize] any international number."

Partial Discography

1988 El cuatro Más allá de lo imaginable EC

1989 Siguiendo hacia lo infinito EC

1990 100 años con Don Felo EC

1991 En vivo desde el Teatro Tapia EC

1992 100% puertorriqueño EC

1993 Bien jíbaro: Country Music of Puerto Rico Rounder Records

1993 Descarga EC

1993 El cuatro y la danza puertorriqueña Disco Hit

1994 Este es tu Taller Campesino Disco Hit

1995 Morel Campos en tiempo de cuatro Disco Hit, Típico, romántico y diferente

1999 La hora de tu partida

See also

• List of Puerto Ricans
• Andrés Jiménez, "el Jíbaro"
• Yomo Toro
• Tomás Rivera Morales
• El Cuatro (Spanish Wikipedia)
• Music of Puerto Rico
• Bordonua
• Puerto Rican Tiples

External links

• IMDb Edwin Colón Zayas
• The Puerto Rican Cuatro, featuring Zayas (from www.topix.com)
• Folk Festival Opens with Music from Puerto Rico (Kent State University
• Dr. Jose Antonio Lopez And Maestro Edwin Colon Zayas Performance 2 On Classical Guitar And Quatro (Guitar.com) (Spanish)
• Fundación nacional para la cultura popular (Spanish)
• Los grandes cuatristas internacionales (Spanish)

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