Felipe "La Voz "Rodriguez 11

Luis Felipe Rodriguez, better known as Felipe "La Voz" Rodríguez, (May 8, 1926 May 26, 1999) born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, was a singer of boleros. He is regarded as the most popular Puerto Rican male singer of the 1950s based on record sales and live audience records. Many of Rodríguez&recordings are often considered to be classics in Puerto Rico. Rodríguez was born in the Savarona section of Caguas, the son of a sharecropper and a midwife. He had a rough childhood; his father died before he was born. In 1930, his mother Carmen moved to Santurce and settled in Barrio Obrero, a working class district of San Juan. There Rodriguez went to school and practiced his singing skills during his free time. Julito Rodriguez(no relation to Felipe), another bolero singer, heard Rodriguez sing and invited him to form a singing duo; they later they formed a trio called "Los Romanceros" (The Romantics) and he first took part in a radio program, the popular amateur showcase "Tribuna del Arte", hosted and produced by Rafael Quiñones Vidal. In 1950, Rodriguez left the trio and tried different projects, such as forming or joining other trios (particularly the Trío Los Antares), duos (he formed the "Dúo Pérez-Rodríguez" with his then wife, and continued his professional relationship with her long after their divorce) and singing solo. He was given the nickname, "La Voz" (The Voice), a name which was to stay with him for the rest of his life, by Puerto Rican radio announcer Mariano Artau. all...