Willie Rosario
Rosario (born Fernando Luis Rosario Marin) was raised in a poor but, hard working family. His parents realized that as a child Willie was musically inclined and had him take guitar lessons at the age of 6. He received his primary and secondary education in his hometown. His mother also had him take saxophone classes, however what he really was interested in was the conga. In 1946, he formed a band called Coamex but, a year later when he was 17 years old, his family to moved to New York City. The family rented an apartment in a Manhattan ghetto known as Spanish Harlem.
Rosario came into contact and played the conga for various orchestras. After he graduated from high school he continued his education and studied journalism and public relations. On one occasion Rosario visited the famed Palladium Ball Room in New York, where Tito Puente was playing the timbales. This was the beginning of his love affair with that instrument. He was 22 years old when he took classes with percussionist Henry Adler.
In 1959, Rosario organized his first band and played for three years in the Club Caborrojeño in New York. When not playing, he would work as a disc jockey for WADO, a Spanish speaking radio station in New York.
In 1962, he signed with the Alegre Record Label and traveled and performed with his band in Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Curaçao, U.S. Virgin Islands and all over the United States. He opened the Tropicana Club in New York in association with fellow Puerto Rican Bobby Valentin.
Among his best known compositions are "De Barrio Obrero a la Quince", "El Timbal de Carlitos", "Mi Amigo el Payaso" (My friend the Clown), "El Revendon", "Lluvia" (Rain), "Cuando No Hay Cariño" (When there's no Love). Plus, he also composed the following jazz tunes "Flip, flop", "Stop and go" and "My Favorite Thing".
Rosario also produced the following songs with the participation of Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tony Vega, Papo Lucca and Bobby Valentin; "Latin Jazz Go-Go-Go", "El Bravo soy Yo" (I'm the tough guy), "Too Too Much" and "Willie Rosario y su Ritmo".
Among the awards and recognitions bestowed upon Rosario are a nomination in 1987 for a Grammy Award for his song "Nueva Cosecha" (New Harvest), various Gold and Platinum Records, the Golden Agueybana Award, ACE, Diplo and Paoli Awards. In 2000, the Puerto Rican Senate paid tribute to Willie Rosario in recognition of his 40 years in the field of music. In 2002, Willie Rosario was inducted into The International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
Wllie Rosario's last production was "La Banda Que Deleita". He continues to play small venues in the San Juan area, having last been seen performing at Shots Bar & Grill in the Isla Verde Mall in late October 2006.
Aqui Estamos
Willie Rosario Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
si manos tienen que no me agarren,
si pies tienen que no me alcancen,
no permitas que mi muerte sea violenta, no permitas que lk sangre se derrame, tu que todo lo conoces sabes de mis pecados pero tambn sabes de mi fé,
Dinero, amor, amores prohibidos, ella tiene sus ojos vendados su cuerpo delgado camina en la oscuridad la angustiosa soledad se la quizo llevar,
No saben la inocencia que dañaron siendo una niña con pocos años y la violaron,
(s)
Si vos no estan aqui me voy a morir, si vos no estas aqui mi vida no es feliz.
These lyrics from Willie Rosario's song "Aqui Estamos" reveal a sense of desperation and pain from the singer, as they plead for protection from those who would harm them. The singer begins by saying that if those who wish to harm them have eyes that cannot see them, hands that cannot grab them, and feet that cannot reach them, they ask that their death not be violent and that their blood not be shed. They acknowledge that God knows their sins, but also their faith. The following lines shift the focus to a woman who has suffered from the abuse of others. She walks in darkness, with her body thin and her eyes blindfolded. The singer laments the innocence that was taken from her when she was raped at a young age. The chorus is a plea to the one they address in the lyrics - if that person is not here, they will die, and their life is not happy without them.
Line by Line Meaning
Si ojos tienen que no me vean
If there are eyes that can't see me
si manos tienen que no me agarren
If there are hands that can't grab me
si pies tienen que no me alcancen,
If there are feet that can't reach me
no permitas que mi muerte sea violenta, no permitas que la sangre se derrame,
Don't let my death be violent, don't let the blood spill,
tu que todo lo conoces sabes de mis pecados pero también sabes de mi fe,
You who knows everything knows of my sins but also knows of my faith,
Dinero, amor, amores prohibidos, ella tiene sus ojos vendados su cuerpo delgado camina en la oscuridad la angustiosa soledad se la quizo llevar,
Money, love, forbidden love, she has her eyes blindfolded, her thin body walks in the darkness, the distressing loneliness tried to take her away,
No saben la inocencia que dañaron siendo una niña con pocos años y la violaron,
They don't know the innocence they damaged being a young girl and raped her,
(s)
Si vos no estan aqui me voy a morir, si vos no estas aqui mi vida no es feliz.
If you're not here, I'm going to die. If you're not here, my life is not happy.
Fueron cortados con la misma tijera ella, el león la fiera, su mirada a cualquiera desviste pero su cara pálida tiene la mirada triste
They were cut from the same cloth: she, the lioness, her gaze undresses anyone but her pale face has a sad look.
Contributed by Alex P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.