Edwin Colón Zayas y Su Taller Campesino

DATE OF BIRTH: October 27, 1965

PLACE OF BIRTH: Orocovis, Puerto Rico

Music worker and tireless defender of our national instrument, the four, Edwin Colón Zayas crowned his first efforts in the pentagram when in 1977 he was awarded in several contests of four that were celebrated in Puerto Rico. At a time when the instrument was fighting for its survival, and in which the rise of the new song and the neofolklore in Puerto Rico, had given a new impulse in the songbook, the appearance of this young orocoveño was an air of encouragement to The defenders of the native Borincana music.

Member of a family of exponents of the folk genres, Edwin Colón Zayas is the eldest son of a family of five musicians. At six he began to show interest in music; Inclination that his progenitor took advantage to teach him his first guitar chords and the first notes in the four Puerto Rican.

With the advent of the 80's, Edwin worked as a musician, arranger and cuatrista in groups like Jataca, Cimarrón, Areyto, Cumbre Criolla, Taller Boricua, the orchestra of Rafael de Jesús, Mapeyé and the group of Andrés Jiménez. All this work was combined with the many distinctions that were granted, beginning in 1982 when he received the First National Award of the Four, while his group was distinguished as the Typical Mountain Set and the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture awarded him the Medal of Culture.

With the recognition of the prestigious national institution, Edwin was selected to musically soften the massive reception that was given to the Kings of Spain in 1986. His interpretive quality and musical ingenuity led him to the studio where he surprised the specialized critic with his First recording production: "El cuatro: beyond the imaginable".

"With the release of this recording Edwin Colón Zayas has made an excellent contribution to Puerto Rican music," wrote journalist Javier Santiago in the newspaper El Mundo in the June 4, 1989 edition.

To his successful debut followed then other excellent productions as they were "Following towards the infinite", "100 years with Don Felo" and "100% Puerto Rican".

In 1991 Edwin was chosen to participate as a solo musician in the inaugural concert of the San Juan Pops Orchestra in the Center of Fine Arts. That same year it offered a special concert for the International Festival of the Guitar celebrated in the University of Puerto Rico. And later he represented the Country next to his Peasant Workshop at the Cervantino International Festival, held in the Mexican Republic.

A year later, the cuatrista lived one of his most exciting moments as a musician when he performed a "hand to hand" with the famed Spanish guitarist

Paco de Lucía. The show, which was presented at the Teatro La Perla in Ponce and the Antonio Paoli Hall of the Fine Arts Center, was a great success for both national and Spanish critics who attended this concert during the Quincentennial celebrations of the Meeting of Two Worlds.

To a success such as this, he was followed by his presentation at the Expo 92 held in Seville. Later he participated in the inauguration of the statue dedicated to Pedro Albizu Campos in the city of Chicago in the United States, as well as represented Puerto Rico in the Festival of the Guitar celebrated in Martinique. In this one, Edwin again captivated to the specialized press, receiving French applause. And to complete its successes, the orocoveño closed with gold in 1992 when sharing the platform with the salsa artist Willie Colón and the maestro of the four, Yoyo Toro, in the staging of the concert "Christmas Assault".

Around the seas, international critics strongly applauded the edition of "Bien jíbaro, Country Music of Puerto Rico" that Colon Zayas recorded, along with Taller Campesino, for the American label Rounder Records in 1993. A year later, the group Was selected to participate in the official events of the celebration of the July 4 parade with President Bill Clinton. In other aspects of his career, Edwin and Taller Campesino were chosen in 1994 among 228 groups from across the Americas to represent Puerto Rico at festivals held in Japan for two weeks. On his way home, the cuatrista debuted as a soloist in the Sala Antonio Paoli of the Center of Fine Arts in a concert that was highlighted as one of the best of the year.

With the closing of the decade, Edwin Colón Zayas has shared scenarios with figures such as Marc Anthony, Tony Vega, Carlos Vives, was invited as a solo musician to participate in concerts of the Symphony Orchestra of San Antonio, Texas; The Caracas Symphony Orchestra and the San Juan Pops; As well as started ovations by its performance next to famous guitarists Strunz and Farah.

As they peek into the gates of a new century, a hand-in-hand with the Venezuelan cuatrista Aquiles Baez, a recording with the international Strunz and Farah, as well as the selection by the Angel Ramos Foundation that commissioned Edwin to play a representative video Of The Arecibo Observatory, are some of the achievements that have marked the career of this talented Borincano musician. Along with his work, more than a dozen record productions seal his outstanding work in the world staff. Labor, which demonstrates his unwavering commitment to enhance the music and indigenous instruments of his country: Puerto Rico.

Main Discography

El cuatro Más allá de lo imaginable EC 1988

Siguiendo hacia lo infinito EC 1989

100 años con Don Felo EC 1990

En vivo desde el Teatro Tapia EC 1991

100% puertorriqueño EC 1992

Bien jíbaro: Country Music of Puerto Rico Rounder

Records 1993

Descarga EC 1993

El cuatro y la danza puertorriqueña Disco Hit 1993

Este es tu Taller Campesino Disco Hit 1994

Morel Campos en tiempo de cuatro Disco Hit 1995

Típico, romántico y diferente

La hora de tu partida 1999

Navidad con el Taller Campesino ECZ 2000

Discografía alterna-

El espíritu de un pueblo 1994

Concierto Criollo con San Juan Pops 1997

Tocando tierra 1999