Luis Guillermo Texidor Ortiz, more commonly known as Luigi Texidor, was born on January 20 1935 in the Puerto Rican town of Santa Isabel, more precisely in Colonia Florida.
The town of Santa Isabel in Puerto Rico is located south of the island of enchantment and borders Cuamo to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the south, Juana Díaz to the west, and Salinas to the east.
He was orphaned as an early age, so upon reaching the legal age, he joined the Army of the United States of America.
On returning to Puerto Rico in 1956, he studied to be a professor at the Catholic University of Ponce.
In parallel, he began participating in various groups as a percussionist (he played the bongo).
It was in the Orquesta Hispana de Juana Díaz where he had the opportunity to sing for the first time.
Then, he joined Antonetti y su Combo, until he finally joined the group Papo Lucca y su Sonora Ponceña in 1963.
After the departure of Papo León, Luigi Texidor became the lead singer of the group.
Between 1969 and 1977, he became the best-known voice of “La Ponceña” with the release of the LP Hacheros pa’ un palo and the albums Conquista Musical and El Gigante del Sur.
With this group, he made immortal songs such as “Fuego en el 23”, “Boranda”, “El Pío Pío”, “Bomba Carambomba”, “La Clave”, “Noche Como Boca’e Lobo”, among others.
It is noteworthy that in 1977, he participated in two albums by the Puertorican All-Stars, which is a group that brought the best Puerto Rican musicians and a sort of rival to the Fania All-Stars.
There he shared stages with Mario Ortiz, Andy Montañez, Paquito Guzmán, Lalo Rodríguez, Tito Allen and Gilberto Santa Rosa.
In 1978 he had to leave La Sonora Ponceña because of differences with singer Yolandita Rivera.
This motivated him to have outstanding participation in the orchestras of Tito Puente and Bobby Valentín (with whom he produced the song “Moreno soy”).
He also had a fleeting involvement in the record label Fania. It should be noted that he has always being one of the first salseros to qualify his verses with jocular and catchphrases.
In 1979 he launched solo and his best-known songs include “¿Quién trabajará?”, “Adiós don Gabino”, “Reina Negra”, “El llanto de las Flores” and “Tema de una Flor”, from the albums El Negrito del Sabor, El Caballero, Betún Negro and Sabroso.
Over the years, he made fleeting comebacks with La Sonora Ponceña, as part of the celebrations for its 40th and 45th anniversaries.
Luigi developed a very particular style for his soneos, highlighted by his fun style. With almost six decades of musical life, Texidor has forged a special place in the hearts of salseros. In the city of Medellín, lovers of good salsa have enjoyed the visit of the singer from the town of Santa Isabel on several occasions, the great Luis Guillermo Texidor Ortíz, “thank you, maestro, for all his music. This is a well-deserved tribute to one of the great Puerto Rican singers in our music”.
Today, very close to reaching the age of 80, he maintains good health. By his own admission, it is known that he does not smoke or try other substances harmful to his health.
Photo by Facebook: Luigi Texidor
Source: Frank Manuel Orellana Rosas
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