Billo Frómeta (November 15, 1915 - May 5, 1988) was a Dominican orchestra c… Read Full Bio ↴Billo Frómeta (November 15, 1915 - May 5, 1988) was a Dominican orchestra conductor, arranger and composer who lived and worked most of his life in Venezuela, where he is remembered.

Luis María Frómeta Pereira was born in Pimentel, Duarte Province, Dominican Republic, on November 15, 1915. He would move with his family to San Francisco de Macorís some years later. The school he attended there had compulsory music lessons, so he learned much of his musical training there.

In 1930, at the age of 15, he founded and was the resident conductor of the Banda del Cuerpo de Bomberos de Ciudad Trujillo (Ciudad Trujillo's Fire Brigade's Band). He also founded the Orquesta Sinfónica de Santo Domingo during this time.

In 1933, he moved back to Santo Domingo. During these years, he would meet and work with some of his closest friends and associates: Freddy Coronado, Ernesto Chapuseaux and Simó Damirón, whom he already knew from school . The Conjunto Tropical and the Santo Domingo Jazz Band were formed then, as well.

Frómeta then began studying Pre-Medicine in the Universidad de Santo Domingo and had to abandon all musical activity during this time. However, he eventually dropped out on his third year to dedicate himself fully to music.

Frómeta and his orchestra arrived in Venezuela in December 1937 with his orchestra to play regularly in a dance club in a Caracas, the Roof Garden. The Santo Domingo Jazz Band did well, but the club owners didn't think the name would stick- so they had Frómeta change it to something more marketeable. Frómeta went along, which got him barred from ever returning to his native Dominican Republic as Trujillo considered the change- "Billo's Caracas Boys"- an insult. Billo, Grandes Éxitos, a compilation album of the most famous songs of the Billo's Caracas Boys, was released in 1996.

Frómeta continued to play in Venezuela until the fall of Marcos Pérez Jiménez in 1958. Accused of being a supporter of the regime, he was barred by the Asociación Musical del D.F y Estado Miranda from ever playing in Venezuela again.

Following this, he moved to Cuba to play with a Cuban band there.

In 1960, a special session of the National Assembly was convened in Caracas. The purpose was to lift the ban passed on Billo in 1958, which was by then considered to have been unfair. That very same year, Frómeta returned to Venezuela.

On April 27, 1988, he suffered a stroke while rehearsing with the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra for a concert-tribute in his honour that would occur the very next day: just after he finished conducting the practice run for "Un Cubano en Caracas", he collapsed on the ground as the orchestra was applauding his performance. Frómeta died the following week on May 5, 1988 in Caracas.

Cuando Estemos Viejos
Billo's Caracas Boys Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Cuando pase el tiempo
Y te pongas vieja
La mujer mas linda
Tendras tu que ser

Cuando pase el tiempo
Y mi voz se apague
Muy calladamente

Yo te cantare

Cuando estemos viejos
Dulce novia mia
Tu cabeza blanca
Tendra en cada cana
Una bendicion

Y tu mano suave
Como en otros tiempos
Temblara en mi frente
Y mi boca mustia
Cansada de besos
Te hablara de amor

Cuando estemos viejos
No hara falfa el cielo
Pues tus ojos lindos
El sol y la luna
Para mi seran
Y por eso quiero
Dulce novia mia
Que los años pasen
Y llegar a viejos
Para amarnos mas

Fin

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Billo's Caracas Boys' song "Cuando Estemos Viejos" express a deep and enduring love between two people as they age together. The singer recognizes that as time passes and they grow older, the woman he loves will become the most beautiful woman in the world, despite the physical changes that come with age. He promises to continue singing to her quietly, even when his voice weakens.

The song describes a future in which the couple has grown old together. The man envisions his partner with gray hair, and each strand represents a blessing. He anticipates that her once soft and gentle hand will tremble on his forehead, and his tired lips will still speak words of love to her. Despite the passage of time, their love will not fade; instead, it will deepen and become even more powerful.

The lyrics of "Cuando Estemos Viejos" convey a message of unconditional love that withstands the test of time. It celebrates the beauty of aging together, cherishing the memories and experiences they have shared and looking forward to a future filled with even greater love and affection.

Line by Line Meaning

Cuando pase el tiempo
When time passes

Y te pongas vieja
And you grow old

La mujer mas linda
The most beautiful woman

Tendras tu que ser
You will have to be

Cuando pase el tiempo
When time passes

Y mi voz se apague
And my voice fades away

Muy calladamente
Very quietly

Yo te cantare
I will sing to you

Cuando estemos viejos
When we are old

Dulce novia mia
My sweet bride

Tu cabeza blanca
Your white head