What can I say about this great man [ RAFAEL HERNÁNDEZ ], that has not already been said ?!  I can only echo the voices of others
when speaking of him, they 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",
Rafael Hernández Marín.
For a more complete biography visit WIKIPEDIA using the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Hernández_Marín

In this following video, and in his own words, is Alejandro 'Chalí' Hernández, giving us an introduction into
his father's Memorabilia Hall, located on the Metro Campus of The Inter-American University of Puerto Rico!






























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.  
Rafael Hernández Marín  
(Our beloved "Jibarito")
These portraits of Don Rafael, hang on  the walls of the Memorabilia Custody Hall, the one on the left, at the entrance, and the one
on the right behind the desk of "Chalí" Hernández, the composer's youngest son, the curator of this exhibit hall, a gentleman who
showed me and gave me one of the most honest and sincere examples of what a true humble man really is.
COMMEMORATING HIS 120th BIRTHDAY...
HERE IS MY TRIBUTE PAGE TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS PUERTO RICAN COMPOSER:
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 MEET AND BECOME FRIEND OF THIS FINE GENTLEMAN,
'CHALÍ' HERNÁNDEZ, TO WHOM I ASKED THE FOLLOWING 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, RIGHT HERE. . .", AS HE POINTED AT HIS HEART!

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
OCTOBER 24th; 1892. - DECEMBER 11th: 1965.
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