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.
Porro Sabanero
Billo's Caracas Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yo no sé lo qué me pasa
Yo no sé lo qué yo tengo
Cuando llego a la parranda
Y me entusiasman
El sonar de unos tambores
El sonar de un clarinete
Y escucho un porro de esos sabaneros
Un porro de esos que llegan al alma
En una noche llena de luceros
Se más tierna mi vieja sabana
Güepa!
Este es el grito alegre de un banquero
Que con su negra baila
Y llega
Con su mochila llena de recuerdos
De mi tierra adorada
¡Ay! cuando
Bailaba aquellos porros sabaneros
Que mi pueblo cantaba
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
Óigame, compa
Yo no sé lo qué me pasa
Yo no sé lo qué yo tengo
Cuando llego a la parranda
Y me entusiasman
El sonar de unos tambores
El sonar de un clarinete
Y la trompeta de la banda
Y escucho un porro de esos sabaneros
Un porro de esos que llegan al alma
En una noche llena de luceros
Se más tierna mi vieja sabana
Güepa!
Este el el grito alegre de un banquero
Que con su negra baila
Y llega
Con su mochila llena de recuerdos
De mi tierra adorada
Ay! cuando
Bailaba aquellos porros sabaneros
Que mi pueblo cantaba
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
The song "Porro Sabanero" by Billo's Caracas Boys is a lively and upbeat tribute to the coastal region of Colombia known as Sabana. The song speaks to the joy and excitement felt by the singer as he arrives at a party, drawn to the sound of drums, clarinet and trumpet. The melody of a "porro sabanero" fills the air, capturing his heart and stirring his soul. The song describes the beauty of the Sabana region, with its starry nights and tender landscapes. The chorus repeats the phrase "Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta" ("Porro Sabanero that my people sing") emphasizing the importance of the song as a cultural touchstone that brings the people of the region together.
The verses are filled with energy and enthusiasm, as the singer describes the thrill of being at the party and the excitement of the music. The words "Güepa!" are an exclamation of joy that punctuates the chorus, conveying the contagious emotion that the "porro sabanero" evokes. The singer mentions a "banquero," or banker, who joins in the dancing with his "negra," or sweetheart. The last verse speaks to the nostalgia that the song can evoke, as the singer remembers dances he enjoyed in the past and the joy that the "porro sabanero" brought to his beloved Sabana.
Line by Line Meaning
Óigame, compa
Listen to me, friend
Yo no sé lo qué me pasa
I don't know what's happening to me
Yo no sé lo qué yo tengo
I don't know what I have
Cuando llego a la parranda
When I arrive at the party
Y me entusiasman
And they excite me
El sonar de unos tambores
The sound of some drums
El sonar de un clarinete
The sound of a clarinet
Y la trompeta de la banda
And the trumpet of the band
Y escucho un porro de esos sabaneros
And I hear one of those Sabanero porros
Un porro de esos que llegan al alma
One of those that reach the soul
En una noche llena de luceros
In a night full of stars
Se más tierna mi vieja sabana
My old savannah becomes tender
Güepa!
Yeehaw!
Este es el grito alegre de un banquero
This is the happy cry of a banker
Que con su negra baila
Dancing with his woman
Y llega
And he arrives
Con su mochila llena de recuerdos
With his backpack full of memories
De mi tierra adorada
Of my beloved land
¡Ay! cuando
Oh! When
Bailaba aquellos porros sabaneros
I used to dance those Sabanero porros
Que mi pueblo cantaba
That my people sang
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
(Sabanero porro, Sabanero porro)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
Sabanero porro that my people sing
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
(Sabanero porro, Sabanero porro)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
Sabanero porro that my people sing
(Porro sabanero, porro sabanero)
(Sabanero porro, Sabanero porro)
Porro sabanero que mi pueblo canta
Sabanero porro that my people sing
Writer(s): Gabriel Suarez Romero
Contributed by Caleb W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.