What can I say about this great man that has not already been said ?!  I can only echo the voices of others
when speaking of him, have said that he changed Puerto Rico's music history forever. The monumental
amount of work he produced, the significance of his patriotic lyricism, the legacy that he left for all
generations, proclaim about a love not only in his personal life, but a love that transcends time, ideologies,
and breaks the barriers of pessimism, disagreements, language, color & race, as he demonstrated it through
his inspiration and his undying love for Puerto Rico. In songs like "PRECIOSA" & "LAMENTO BORINCANO",
(which he wrote while he was living far away from his beloved "Borinquen"), he imortalizes the inner most
sentiment of nostalgia of the true Puerto Rican for a homeland that is way beyond the sea's horizon.

One of the main things that took me to Puerto Rico this time around, was to meet with someone whom now I
consider to be my good friend. I'm talking about Mr. Alejandro "Chalí" Hernández, who is the curator of the
Rafael Hernández Memorabilia Custody Hall, and  the son of  the most beloved composer that our little island
of 100x35 miles ever produced, "El Buen Borincano", "El Jibarito",
Don Rafael Hernández Marín.
































As witness of that highlight moment in my life, I'm posting several pictures of my visit to the Rafael Hernández
Memorabilia Custody Hall, on the Metropolitan Campus of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico in the
municipal district of Río Piedras.  
Don Rafael Hernández
(our beloved "jibarito")
These portraits of Don Rafael, hang on  the walls of the Memorabilia Hall, the one on the left, at the entrance, and the
one on the right behind the desk of"Chalí" Hernández, who showed me and gave me one of the most honest and
sincere examples of what a humble man is.
MY TRIBUTE PAGE TO:
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
ME, (LEE SHANEL), MY WIFE
COLLEEN & CHALÍ HERNÁNDEZ.
LEE SHANEL AND CHALÍ, STANDING IN
FRONT OF THE PIANO THAT BELONGED TO
"DON RAFAEL".
THIS BUST OF RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ
SITS IN AN ADJACENT COURTYARD TO
THE MEMORABILIA ROOM.
IT WAS INDEED A GREAT HONOR FOR MY
WIFE AND I TO BE WELCOMED BY CHALÍ. WE
NOW HAVE A FRIEND IN THIS HUMBLE MAN.
VARIOUS ARTICLES BELONGING TO THE LATE
RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ:
HIS HAT, GUITAR & TWO MANUSCRIPTS,
THE ONE ON TOP, THE SONG
"TU NO COMPRENDES"
(WHICH WAS HIS FAVORITE BOLERO),
AND "LAMENTO BORINCANO".
THIS IS THE INVITATION THAT PRESIDENT
KENNEDY SENT TO RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ TO VISIT
THE WHITE HOUSE. IN THAT OCASSION AS JFK
SHOOK HANDS WITH RAFAEL, THE PRESIDENT
GREETED HIM WITH THE WORDS:
"HELLO, MR. CUMBANCHERO".

I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME A FRIEND OF THIS GENTLEMAN, CHALÍ HERNÁNDEZ TO WHOM I ASKED THESE
TWO QUESTIONS: WHAT DOES IT FEEL TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE SON OF RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ? HE RESPONDED
WITH THESE WORDS: "TO ME IS A BLESSING..." , TO WHICH I ASKED HIM: DO YOU MISS HIM? HE ANSWERED:
"NO, I DO NOT . . . , BECAUSE HE IS ALWAYS WITH ME . . ."

AND AS HIS MUSIC PREVAILS THE PASSING OF TIME . . . , HE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ALL PUERTO RICANS AND ALL
THOSE THROUGH LATIN AMERICA AND THE WORLD WHO KNOW AND LOVE THE WORK OF OUR
BELOVED "JIBARITO".
CLICK ~HERE~ TO GO BACK TO THE NAVIGATION PAGE OF
LEE SHANEL