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.
Tres Regalos
Billo's Caracas Boys Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Y me pongo a recordar
Viejos tiempos del milagro
Santa Rosa y el Empedrao
Sabaneta y las Veritas
Tierra Negra y las Pomonas
Bella Vista y las Delicias
Maracaibo, Maracaibo
Aunque lejos yo te sienta
No hay momento de mi vida
Que no esté pensando en ti
En el verde de tus campos
El azul que hay en tu cielo
Y en el lago que me baña
Desde el día que nací
Y por eso, Maracaibo
Tres regalos yo te traigo
Tres regalos que guardaba
Para ti, mi corazón
Mi alegría de zuliano
La franqueza de mi mano
Y el saludo de un hermano
Maracaibo de mi amor
Y por eso, Maracaibo
Tres regalos yo te traigo
Tres regalos que guardaba
Para ti, mi corazón
Mi alegría de zuliano
La franqueza de mi mano
Y el saludo de un hermano
Maracaibo de mi amor
In Billo's Caracas Boys' song Tres Regalos, the singer expresses his love for the city of Maracaibo in Venezuela. He reminisces about the old times in the city, mentioning landmarks and neighborhoods. He vividly describes the green fields, blue sky, and the lake that surrounds the city, all of which evoke memories of his childhood. The three gifts that he brings to Maracaibo are his joy as a native of Zulia state, his integrity, and the warmth of a brotherly greeting.
The song is a love letter to Maracaibo, a city known for its warmth, vibrant cultural scene, and rich history. It was written by Venezuelan composer Rafael Álvarez Ovalles in the 1950s and has since become an iconic Venezuelan folk song. The song's popularity means that it is often performed at public events and is considered a part of the country's cultural heritage.
Line by Line Meaning
Cuando vengo a Maracaibo
Whenever I come to Maracaibo
Y me pongo a recordar
And I start to remember
Viejos tiempos del milagro
Old times of the miracle
Santa Rosa y el Empedrao
Santa Rosa and El Empedrao
Sabaneta y las Veritas
Sabaneta and Las Veritas
Tierra Negra y las Pomonas
Tierra Negra and Las Pomonas
Bella Vista y las Delicias
Bella Vista and Las Delicias
Las Haticos y Santa Cruz
Las Haticos and Santa Cruz
Maracaibo, Maracaibo
Maracaibo, Maracaibo
Aunque lejos yo te sienta
Even though I feel you far away
No hay momento de mi vida
There's no moment in my life
Que no esté pensando en ti
That I'm not thinking of you
En el verde de tus campos
In the green of your fields
El azul que hay en tu cielo
The blue that's in your sky
Y en el lago que me baña
And in the lake that bathes me
Desde el día que nací
Since the day I was born
Y por eso, Maracaibo
And that's why, Maracaibo
Tres regalos yo te traigo
I bring you three gifts
Tres regalos que guardaba
Three gifts that I kept
Para ti, mi corazón
For you, my heart
Mi alegría de zuliano
My joy as a zuliano
La franqueza de mi mano
The openness of my hand
Y el saludo de un hermano
And the greeting of a brother
Maracaibo de mi amor
Maracaibo, my love
Writer(s): Billo Frometa
Contributed by Cameron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@saulnunez1962
Sobre vive en el tiempo
Mi coterráneo y amigo
El mismo es el testigo
De la foto, del encuentro
Fue muy feliz el momento
Con "Piloto" y con Garcia
Que plasmado quedaría
Para la posteridad
Hoy su voz le es lealtad
Cantando cual sinfonía...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marlon...cuida ese viejo roble guarachero...Alegre y matancero...
@carloscifuentes3509
Querida familia, mis mas sinceros saludos a todos los que aqui nos reunimos a escuchar estos hermosos recuerdos inolbidables y que llenan el espirutu de tanta alegia que muy seguramente permaneceran en el fondo de nuestro ser por muchos, muchos anos
@user-bq6vr3og8k
Hermosas canciones la musica dicen la verdad pero tambien alimenta el alma
@JuanOrtega-gl3pd
Excelente música. Saludos a mis hermanos venezolanos, desde Turbaco, Colombia.
@victorjoseduarteramirez8950
Soy del Zulia y desde pequeño me he deleitando cantando,todos los discos de esta Orquesta es unica
@adrianotero7963
Siendo fanático de La Sonora Matancera.....está orquesta tiene algo muy especial.......que linda época que no volvera......
@luismanrique6353
Este Long Play clásico para su tiempo, me recuerda las mejores navidades (época para cuando lo oí por primera vez), de mi niñez, mi adolescencia y cuando ya era adulto, la maravillosa experiencia de poderla bailar con mi madre, tías y sus amigas...un mundo maravilloso de recuerdos que nunca se olvidarán. Aún hoy en día y con más de 60 años, son estas canciones las que aunque traen nostalgia, los recuerdos de tus seres queridos te traen a la vida.
@tamareanato2502
Esta excelente recopilación de tan magníficos temas con cantantes legendarios....aprendí a disfrutar de esta maravillosa música al al lado del mi adorada madre la recuerdo con en mis tiernos 9'años en mis recuerdos está ligada la música y y la memoria de mi vieja en un pueblito de Venezuela en el estado Guárico....SAN JOSÉ. DE GUARIBE..
@coromotogruber6449
No hay cómo esa música y su ritmo divino. Me encanta !!!!!
@fabioAugustoHerrera
La imponente Billo´s Caracas Boys y sus estrellas, forever
@samuelcarbonell6640
Recuerdo este LP fue el único que mi padre compro en mi casa de la Billos Caracas Boys y me gustaba mucho Bacoso , pero con el tiempo me di cuenta que todos los temas son buenísimos