Pedro Ortiz Davila
| Pedro Ortiz Dávila | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Davilita |
| Born | May 21, 1912 Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Died | July 8, 1986 Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Genres | Bolero, Puerto Rican patriotic songs |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals |
 You may listen to Pedro "Davilita" Ortiz Dávila sing Sin Dios Viví (I lived without God) on YouTube. |
Pedro Ortiz Dávila (May 21, 1912 – July 8, 1986), better known as Davilita, was a popular Puerto Rican singer of boleros and patriotic songs. He was the first artist to record the Rafael Hernández standard "Lamento Borincano".
Ortiz Dávila was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. His parents, however, moved to New York City when he was only a child and settled down in East Harlem, which is also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio. Davilita, as he became known, learned to play the guitar at a young age and entertained his family with his voice. One of the places which Davilita frequented was Hernández Record Store in El Barrio, which was a common gathering place for young Latin musicians at the time.
In 1929, 17-year-old Davilita met by chance Puerto Rican composer Rafael Hernández. Davilita got along with Hernández and was able to see the unfinished version of Hernández's composition "Lamento Borincano". Davilita asked Hernández if he could record the song but Hernández thought that he was too young and declined his request. The song was to be recorded by Ramón Quiroz with Davilita and Fausto Delgado as background singers but fate had a different plan. Quiroz became ill on the day of the recording and Davilita ended up doing the recording as the lead voice. The recording was made in 1930 with Manuel Jiménez, better known as "Canario", and his band. Said recording marks the start of Davilita's career. Eventually, he would join Rafael Hernández's Cuarteto Victoria.
Davilita became very popular in the New York Latin scene and was soon working with many Latin artists. It wasn't long before he met Pedro Flores, a fellow Puerto Rican and composer. He was asked by Flores to join his group (variously known as Cuarteto Flores and Sexteto Flores), along with Myrta Silva and Daniel Santos. Davilita was a follower of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and the ideals of its president Pedro Albizu Campos. Together with Santos, he recorded various songs which advocated Puerto Rico's independence. They recorded "Patriotas" (Patriots) and "La Lucha por la Independencia de Puerto Rico" (The Fight for Puerto Rico's Independence), which was adapted from one of Juan Antonio Corretjer's poems.
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