Tomás Rivera Morales

Tomás Rivera Morales, simply known as "Maso Rivera" (November 13, 1927 – February 4, 2001), was a Puerto Rican musician and a major exponent of Puerto Rico's Jíbaro music. Rivera composed over 1,000 instrumental compositions for the Cuatro, Puerto Rico's national instrument.

Early years Rivera was born in the barrio Galateo in the town of Toa Alta. His parents were Ramón Rivera Nieves and Secundina Morales Rolón. When he was five years old, under his mother's encouragement, he began to play the cuatro. The cuatro is a Puerto Rican indigenous instrument derivate from the guitar family. It is smaller than the guitar and originally had four strings evolving to its modern version of 5 pairs of strings. Rivera built his first cuatro when he was nine years old. His first teacher was Felipe Morales Rolon, Rivera's uncle and Puerto Rican cuatro player and maker. Even though he did not know how to read music, he was a good listener, and learned how to play whole musical compositions by ear.

While Rivera was in the sixth grade, his family found themselves in a difficult financial situation, and he was forced to leave school. He worked with his father on a farm, and helped his mother in a small family-owned store, where he found the time to play the cuatro. He was often asked by the local neighbors to play his instrument at parties and funerals.

Musical career

When drafted into the United States Army in 1950, Rivera took along his cuatro instrument, with which he entertained the troops overseas during his free time. Upon his honorable discharge from the Army in 1954, Rivera returned to Puerto Rico.

Rivera began to write musical compositions, and his first was titled Sobre mis Colinas. He joined other musicians of typical genres from Puerto Rico, such as Florencio "Ramito" Morales Ramos, Jesús "Chuito de Bayamon" Sanchez Erazo, and Guzmán Rosario. He befriended Abelardo Díaz Alfaro, who played an important role in the development of his musical potential.

In 2021 Tomás Rivera Morales was posthumously inducted to the Puerto Rico Veterans Hall of Fame.

Musical compositions

Among his many musical compositions were the following: Maso Rivera vs. Santos Rolón y sus Conjuntos de Cuerdas Maso Instrumental Felicitaciones Cantan: Juaniquillo, Paquito, y Luisito con Maso Rivera Trullando por San Juan con Maso Rivera y Nieves Quintero Mi Puerto Rico Querido: Maso Rivera y su Conjunto de Cuerdas Aguinaldos con Sinfonía: Canta el Indio de Bayamón con Maso Rivera Navidades con Maso Rivera y sus Conjuntos Maso Rivera Alegres Navidades Borincanas Maso Rivera: 60 Años de Música y Arte