Páles y la Rumba de Esquina from Banco Popular.

Banco Popular announced that to kick off the holiday season, they are making their long awaited musical special. The special, which will be available for sale on DVD and CD, is titled “Páles y la Rumba de Esquina” (“Páles and the Rumba at the Corner”) and is based on the life of the legendary Puerto Rican poet, Luis Palés Matos.

The production, directed by José “Jochi” Melero and Carlos Larrieu, centers around the poems of the distinguished writer. Edgardo Cartagena was the musical director and Carlos Larrieu the screenwriter. Pedro Reina and Noel Luna were the project’s researchers and Pedro Adorno the stage director.

The 56-minute long musical special recreates a crucial stage in the life of Palés Matos, right after he widows and leaves his first child with his mother and nanny in Guayama to move to San Juan, where he befriended other writers of the time and met his second wife.

“This production has enormous value as an educational and musical instrument for which I am sure it will become a part of the Hispanic cultural legacy but particularly for Puerto Rico,” said Teruca Rullán, senior vice president of Corporate Communications for Popular, Inc.

University of Puerto Rico Editorial (UPRED), who holds most of Palés’ works, has joined this effort for the first time. This partnership will promote not only the name, but the literary legacy of one of the most important Puerto Rican poets of all time. UPRED will offer those who are interested in deepening their knowledge on the life and work of Luis Palés Matos, the opportunity to acquire the work of this emblematic writer — such as the well-known “Tuntún de pasa y grifería”; “Fiel Fugada,” the only existing anthology on Palés; or Orfeo Mulato, the latest investigative essay from Dr. Mercedes López-Baralt — as part of a special package that will be available for purchase as a DVD and CD.

Fofé from the group Circo, Mima, Willy from the group Cultura Profética, Lucecita Benítez, Michael Stuart, Mimi Maura, RafyZone, Plena Son, Superaquello, Son del Batey and Víctor Gotay, are some of the artists who have given voice to Palés’ poetry. At the same time, this special production features various representatives from the world of entertainment, culture, culinary arts, education and religion. These representatives have been charged with reciting fragments that connect the music to the visual part of this production. They are: Father Ángel Darío Carrero, Teófilo Torres, Noel Luna, Ana Mercedes Palés, Alexandra Giménez Vale, Antonio Martorell, José Díaz De Villegas, Julia Thompson, Rafael García Rodón and Chef Mario Pagán.

Some of the poems that have been musicalized are: Neurosis, Canción Festiva Para Ser Llorada, Mulata-Antilla, La Gorda Mandinga, Danzarina Africana, Plena del Menéalo, Danza Negra, Ñam-Ñam, Falsa Canción de Baquiné, Preludio en Boricua, among others.

“Aside from its legacy, this production serves as a tool for Popular to raise funds for Fundación Banco Popular, which helps promote opportunities for children and youth of low-income families to receive music education and enrich their learning environment,” said Beatriz Pollhamus, director of Fundación Banco Popular.