The singer who inspired Juan Bosch, Joaquín Balaguer and a whole nation of creoles” | Listin Diario

During the 12 years of Joaquín Balaguer’s reign, Fernando Casado recorded the criollos “La Caviota” by his then political opponent Juan Bosch and “Lucia” by Balaguer. In his concerts he always performed, first, the composition of the President of the time and then Bosch. In his words, the regime that ruled the country from 1966 to 1978 prevented him from facing problems.

“Magistrate, Fernando Casado!” He mesmerized the public with his renditions of boleros and romantic songs. Former Presidents of the Republic were Balaguer and Bosch.

With the memories he brings back again and again, with a quiet voice and a look that explores the past, Fernando Casado recreates his years from his childhood to becoming one of the main voices of Dominican song.

His past flies to the school of La Normale, where he has the privilege of being a student of the poet of the homeland, Don Pedro Mir. From him he received lessons in astronomy and geography. He was a good student and Pedro was more than a teacher to him as there was great respect and admiration between them.

They lived in the midst of the Trujillo dictatorship, during which teachers were honored and celebrated for bringing the bread of education to students. Fernando was always an excellent student and because of this he earned the respect of his teachers.

“Yes, it was a great privilege for me to be a student of Pedro Mir, more than a teacher, he was a great man, elegant and a great man,” Casado recalled during a conversation with journalists of Listin Diario. .

Fernando (March 4, 1932, San Jose de Ochoa), Trujillo was practically born authoritarian and had a very strict upbringing. His parents, though divorced at an early age, were always involved in his training. His father, who lived with his family in the Villa Consuelo section of the capital, would always visit him.

“Mom was strict, I remember one Sunday when she was playing ball and she dragged me to church, I cried because I didn’t want to wear shorts because I already felt that I was too old to wear long pants,” he recalled during a conversation with journalists from Listin Diario.

At that time he was embarrassed, because by using long pants, at that time, he decided that you are already a “little man”.

At the age of 91, sitting on the balcony of his modest apartment, surrounded by memories, he sees a huge plant in which he recreates and thanks God for being able to see it every day.

Sipping his coffee, he said, “Seeing that greenery from here is a gift from God.”

Then he evokes unforgettable moments: “My grandfather, William Reid, was an Irishman who fell in love with a black woman from Brazil. My grandmother didn’t marry him, so I couldn’t read my father’s last name, but his mother’s, who was married. Those are my true selves.”

In his memoirs he recounts how he lived through the passing of the San Zenon Hurricane (September 3, 1930) and his family’s conversion to the evangelical church as a result. “I was born and brought up in an evangelical church. Pastor Mr. Morgan helped my aunts and parents rebuild their homes.

His history in media and art begins with no intention, he became a broadcaster, actor and much less a singer.

That’s where he started his public career at HIN and HIZ radio stations. When José Arizmendi-Betan-Trujillo (the dictator’s brother) moved the La Voz del Yuna station to the capital in 1946 under the name La Voz Dominicana. Casado is invited to read the space and become part of the prestigious station’s staff of announcers.

He was expelled from La Voz Dominicana because he failed to follow one of the rules. Fernando recalls that falling in love with a classmate was reason enough for him to be expelled.

“It was banned because all the girls were only for Beton, and I wasn’t jailed because a family friend suggested it, and I lost my job,” he said.

Radionovelas

At the HIN radio station, Fernando Casado excelled in radio soap operas, a job he resumed after being expelled from La Voz Dominicana, to which he returned a few years later.

He was the idol of Dominican radio soap operas, where, by chance, he had the opportunity to sing and they discovered that the young man had a beautiful voice.

Singing

Casado was invited to sing on several occasions in radio programs broadcast live in Santo Domingo in the mid-20th century. “I sang without the illusion of being an artist, and what happened in my life was incredible,” he said.

During those years, Fernando started working at Scotiabank, the first private bank in the country, and because of his dedication he came to occupy a management position. It was in this institution that the nickname “Magistrate” was born. He remembers that he always called magistrates to flatter his clients, so when he started appearing on television, people remembered him by that nickname.

While he was working at the bank, Rafael Solano invited him to sing “La Hora del Moro” on Channel 7, Channel 7 (it aired in 1959), and was produced by Solano, a Meridian music program with artists. La Voz is a different youth from Dominicana channel’s shows.

“When Solano went, I told him no. On the day I had a presentation, I told my friends that Solano invited me to the show and they asked me to go. I showed up that day and what happened to my artistic career is now history,” he said.

Since then, “The Magistrate, Fernando Casado!”, announced on radio and television, has earned a place in the hearts of Dominicans ever since.

A bad night

Among the disagreements he experienced during the dictatorship, Casado recalled a terrible night he spent in 1960 with Rafael Solano, Elinita Santos and Josito Mateo, who were hired to sing at a New Year’s party at the dictator’s house on Avenue Maximo.

The team was convened at 5:00 pm by Johnny Abez Garcia, Chief of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM). The hour passed, and not being called to sing, the artists sat in a room without even a glass of water, and went to hear Angelita Trujillo, the dictator’s daughter, who approached her father and immediately began the evening. They had already asked Abbess, but he did not pay attention.

Married, he recalled, they finished at 4:00 in the morning, they didn’t even give him water, it was a completely free performance, because no one dared to charge “Trujilos”.

“A Spring for the World”

In the 1970s, Latin America experienced authoritarian governments, which inspired many poets and artists to sing to them, especially for freedom, the poet and publicist René del Risco Bermúdez was one of them and left one of his best works. The song “A Spring for the World” was recorded with music by Fernando Casado and Rafael Solano.

The song’s story, according to Casado, begins with a dream Solano has with the music for an event he is participating in in Spain. “Then at two o’clock in the morning, Solano called me at my house and told me that he had dreamed of that melody, and I told him to record it on his recorder, and then we’ll see tomorrow,” he says.

So, in the morning Casado and Solano invited the poet René del Risco to write the song, which he promptly did.

Nothing happened musically in Spain, but it remains one of the best songs in the Dominican songbook of all time.

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In acting, he stood out with “El Chato” in the first movie shot in the country in 1965, “Gana Brava”, and was the protagonist of the televsion “Maria Jose” with dancer Miriam Bello. Filmed in the Dominican Republic.

In 1972, Casado represented the country at the OTI Song Festival in Spain with the song “The Moon Always Smiles”, and in 1977 he won second place with the song “Al nacer cada enero” by Cio Sorilla.

In 1977 She participated in the Miss Universe pageant held in the Dominican Republic.

Magistrate was the host of the Fernando Casado program on Channel 7 and the Fernando Casado program on Dominican Voice. Telendillas was the host of the Fiesta program on Channel 2 and was also hosted by Fernando Casado.

public life

Last month, the Bulavar de los Estrellas Foundation, chaired by journalist Carlos Bautista, recognized his artistic career, along with Nini Cafaro and Rafael Solano. He attended the function with his family. On that day he received many compliments and congratulations.

A month ago, he attended a tribute to late actress Monina Sola. That night he confessed to us that by exercising his body daily, and abstaining from alcohol, he lived 91 years in wonderful and perfect health.