Arturo Somohano Portela - San Juan, Puerto Rico
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 18° 27.918 W 066° 06.736
19Q E 804995 N 2044101
The statue of pianist, composer, and conductor Arturo Somohano Portela is located at the east end of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico.
Waymark Code: WMVPF2
Location: Puerto Rico
Date Posted: 05/14/2017
Views: 3
A life size bronze statue of Arturo Somohano Portela stands on a 6' high stone base. Portela is depicted in the formal attire of a conductor. He is wearing a tuxedo with tails, vest, bow tie, and a medallion around his neck. He is holding both hands forward as if conducting an orchestra. He stands on a circular stone base which is divided by a 1' high metal band near the top.
A bronze plaque in a recessed dado is inscribed:
ARTURO SOMOHANO PORTELA
1910 - 1977
MUSICO, COMPOSITOR Y DIRECTOR DE
ORQUESTRA QUE NACIÓ Y FALLECIÓ EN
SAN JUAN DE PUERTO RICO. FUNDÓ
LA QRQUESTA FILAMÓNICA DE
PUERTO RICO, LA QUE DIRICIÓ DESDE
1950 HASTA 1977. REPRESENTÓ CON
GRAN DISTINCIÓN A SU CIUDAD NATAL
Y A SU PATRIA EN LOS PAISES DE
AMERICA Y EUROPE DONDE SE PRESENTÓ.
MUNICIPO DE SAN JUAN
SILA M. CALDERON, ALCALDESA
ANO 2000
ARTHUR SOMOHANO PORTELA
1910 - 1977
MUSICIAN, COMPOSER AND ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR.
BORN AND DIED IN SAN JUAN OF PUERTO RICO.
FOUNDED THE PHILAMONIC ORCHESTRA OF PUERTO RICO,
THE DIRECTOR FROM 1950 TO 1977.
REPRESENTED WITH GREAT DISTINCTION HIS
NATIVE CITY AND HIS MOTHER COUNTRY IN THE
COUNTRIES OF THE AMERICAS AND EUROPE WHERE HE APPEARED.
CITY OF SAN JUAN
SILA M. CALDERON, MAYORESS
YEAR 2000
Arturo Somohano Portela was born in San Juan Puerto Rico 1910 and died in San Juan in 1977. He was a pianist, composer and conductor.
During World War II, he served as the pianist and concert director in the camps of US soldiers. During this time he wrote the "Canción de las Américas" (Song of the Americas) which became a popular anthem with the troops of the United States Army.
He directed the San Juan Symphony Orchestra and founded the Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra in 1950 and served as its director until his death in 1977. Somohano was an invited conductor in major cities in Latin American, the United States and Europe. In the late 1960s, his 100th presentation as conductor was celebrated in Madrid. He was awarded Spain's highest civilian distinction, The Cross of the Order of Isabel la Católica.