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Who was "El Zurdo de Isabela" [Lefty from Isabela]?
The tall, dark gentleman in the center of this photograph
(taken in New York in 1916) of the Estrellas de Borinque quintet is none other
than Joaquín Rivera, "El Zurdo de Isabela", one of the most distinguished
Puerto Rican cuatristas of the twentieth century, and possibly the first to ever play the
cuatro on a recording. We are preparing an interview with his son, Joaquín Rivera, Jr.,
to be included on this site in coming months. Listen to Joaquín Rivera here in a 1916
Victor recording.  Joaquín Rivera "El Zurdo de Isabela" ['Lefty' from Isabela]. This photo was taken in 1916 while Rivera was recording "ethnic records" in New York City for the Victor label. This is the earliest photograph we have been able to find of the violin- shaped cuatro (the modern cuatro's configuration). The cuatro that Rivera holds was made by Miguel Hernández of Arecibo. Hernandez may have been one of the first makers to make cuatros in this shape. We have been able to ascertain that violins were being made in Arecibo at that time, therefore it was likely that he was inspired by the ones that he'd seen. Photo courtesy Joaquín Rivera, jr.
We learned about Joaquín Rivera
from his son. Below, John Sotomayor, chief investigator of the Cuatro
Project, examines octogenarian Joaquicito Rivera, Jr.'s (1910-1995) old
cuatro.
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