Alfred Rivera

Alfred Rivera of New Britain began to play the guitar from age five, absorbing the music from his father, a well-known trovador, and family and friends. He has dedicated his life to learning, performing, and promoting música tipica and musica jibara, the folk music of Puerto Rico. Alfred took cuatro lessons from master musician Virgilio Cruz as part of the cuatro academy La Primera Orquesta de Hartford, later playing guitar with the group Canto Isleño under the direction of Virgilio Cruz. Alfred also played cuatro to accompany the folk poets who competed in the Concurso de Trovadores that were organized by Cruz and others in Connecticut during the 1990s. Alfred and other musicians kept this musical tradition alive in Greater Hartford after Virgilio returned to Puerto Rico. He brought popular Puerto Rican trovadores to Hartford, including Mariano Cotto and Miguel Santiago from Comerio, a city from which many of Hartford’s residents originate, in 2001. Alfred Rivera and CCHAP produced a Concurso in 2003 on Park Street in Hartford that was attended by over 300 people, with a dozen poets from all over the East Coast competing to compose extemporaneous verse in the décima style, with musical accompaniment. Alfred’s service to his community was honored with a special dinner concert at La Sociedad Puertorriqueña in 2012, with several musicians including his father Florentin Rivera performing. In 2016, Alfred played one of CCHAP’s outdoor concerts at the Connecticut Historical Society with Amor y Cultura and several trovadores from the community, and in 2019 he performed there with another group, Grupo Guajiba.

Alfred Rivera formed the group Amor y Cultura to perform Puerto Rican música tipica, traditional folk music of the countryside and mountains, featuring bongos, guitar, guiro (gourd scraper), vocals, and cuatro - the signature instrument of this style and Alfred’s specialty. Their repertoire of música jibara is rarely performed in Connecticut, making it an interesting addition to the salsa, merengue, and other popular forms which predominate. They play songs from several important Puerto Rican musical forms, including Trova (rhythms such as Seis and Aguinaldo which accompany improvised sung poetry such as the décima); Danza (a more classical instrumental style), and Plena (an African-influenced form characterized by percussion and verses of commentary on current events). Amor y Cultura has been performing for over twenty years. Their recent line-up of musicians includes Pedro Alvarez (guitar), Robert Piñeiro (bongos), Edwin Velez (guiro/gourd scraper), Alfred Rivera (cuatro), and Antonio Rivera (trovador).

Amor y Cultura is one of the most popular groups working in this genre in Connecticut. Their mission is to preserve and sustain the folk music of Puerto Rico, which is so important to the history and character of Puerto Rican culture. Amor y Cultura carries on the traditions of the island’s music that have been transplanted to neighborhoods in Connecticut while also reaching general audiences who learn about and appreciate Puerto Rican culture through it. Amor y Cultura is an active group, performing widely across the region at venues including the Hartford Public Library, the Bristol Arts in the Park Fest, numerous Latin festivals, the Hispanic Professionals Network awards ceremonies, and at fundraising events. They were part of the Evelyn Preston Fund Summer Concert Series for many years in the 1990s and early 2000s. As a community-based group, they have performed at Sacred Heart Church Fiesta Pastoral (Hartford), at Centro Civico’s Latino Festival in Amsterdam, New York, at fundraisers for St. Mary’s Church in New Britain, and regular open mike sessions at Los Hermanos and Peter’s Café on Park Street in Hartford. They played often at the Capitol Towers Senior Center in Hartford and collaborated with organizations such as Charter Oak Cultural Center and Bulkeley High School to present top musicians from Puerto Rico to the community. Regular performances have taken place at Los Hermanos Café (Hartford) every Sunday evening, at La Fontera every Saturday (Meriden), and at La Sociedad Puertorriqueña on Sundays (New Britain). Amor y Cultura was featured in concert at the Institute for Community Research in July 2003 as part of the Que Bonita Bandera exhibit there, and Alfred organized a Puerto Rican music festival and traditional trovador competititon in September 2003.