Ismael Rivera: Traigo de Todo

Ismael Rivera (1931-1987) is one of the key figures of Puerto Rican salsa, an early exponent and pioneer, and so recognized on the island today, largely because of his sojourn in New York City. His career started in his late teens in Santurce while he was still employed as a laborer on the island, but he soon became established with Rafael Cortijo y su Combo in New York. He gained a reputation as a vocal improviser with the sobriquet, El Sonero Mayor. Like so many others of that generation, his involvement with drugs brought him a stint in the United States narcotics facility in Lexington, Kentucky, after which he returned to Puerto Rico. He died in Santurce (where there is a statue of him), but securely established both as a singer and composer as well as a figure supporting the rights of Black Puerto Ricans.

This recording, which dates from 1974, was considered something of a breakthrough both for its musical quality and its cultural contributions, embodied in a number of iconic songs.

One of them, "El Nazareno," is an homage to the Black Christ of Portobelo (Panama), a devotional shrine dating back to the eighteenth century and frequently associated with miracles. It is one of an entire genre of Black Christs found throughout Latin America. On the other hand, "Traigo de Todo" is a kind of celebration of life, of giving things of value to a community. It is very much a model of the genre.

It would be difficult to underestimate the significance of this recording to Puerto Rican salsa, or to the career of Rivera. It came at a time when he was recovering from his ostensible involvement with drugs, but also continued the Afro-Caribbean influences for which Rivera was known. He was certainly a star before Traigo de Todo, but the music, propelled by a powerful band, which included trumpet player Chocolate Armenteros, cemented his presence and status within the Nuyorican salsa community. He sang "Yo No Quiero Piedras en Mi Camino" (I Want No Obstacles in My Way), but like his near contemporary Héctor Lavoe, he found plenty of them, and they ultimately ended his life prematurely. It is a very good thing to have an audiophile vinyl on the fiftieth anniversary of the album's release.