Miguel Poventud

Miguel Poventud a.k.a. "El Niño Prodigio de Guayama" and "Miguelito" (August 4, 1942 – March 3, 1983), was a Puerto Rican musician, singer, actor and composer of Boleros.

Among the singers who have interpreted his musical compositions are Johnny Albino, Héctor Lavoe and Daniel Santos.

Poventud was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico, to Francisco Poventud, a law enforcement officer in the San Juan Police Department, and Concepción Aponte, a seamstress.

A descendant of Carlos Armstrong and Eulalia Pou, Poventud was the youngest of five siblings.

From the age of five Poventud looked forward to trips to the town Plaza accompanied by his mother, dressed in clothes that she herself had sewn.

While he was a student at the Escuela Parada Guamani, he suffered a spinal cord injury caused by a biking accident and was hospitalized for two years, which left him immobile at the age of 10.

His mother was stricken by TB and died shortly after he was discharged from the hospital.

When Poventud's father gave him a guitar, he taught himself to play it.

He re-arranged the guitar strings upside down since he was left handed.

Soon Poventud was performing in his hometown of Guayama, winning awards, and singing before large audiences at the local radio station WHOM.

He became known as El Niño Prodigio de Guayama (The Child Prodigy of Guayama).

After his mother's death, Poventud's father remarried.

The young boy resented this, and resented his father's opposition to his musical career.

Victor Alonso of Spanoramic records became interested in Poventud's musical work.

Before his mother died, Alonso promised her that he would give Poventud a career opportunity.

He made Poventud an offer that included the recording of Poventud's first record album titled Pobre Huerfanito (Poor Little Orphan) in New York City.

At this point, Poventud's father again resisted the boy's musical career, and his older brother Carlos argued with the father about Miguelito's future.

After this argument, Carlos took young Poventud to live with him in New York City, and became his legal guardian.

In New York, Poventud continued his primary and secondary education at P.S. 93 Elementary School, then at Joan of Arc High School.

Poventud wrote his first composition at age 14 titled Ya No Soy Un Niño. (I'm Not a Child Anymore).

His primary inspirations were his deceased mother, his new reality in New York, a growing romanticism, and the melancholy of diaspora - a nostalgia for the island and the people that he'd left behind.

In 1956, still at the age of 14, Poventud was invited to sing in the wedding of Grace Kelly and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco.

Poventud made his professional debut in El Teatro Puerto Rico, where he sang the songs he'd written in his mother's memory: Soy un Huerfanito (I'm a Little Orphan), De Que Me Sirve la Vida (What's the Use of Living), and Hechame a Mi la Culpa (Blame Me).

Poventud continued to make further presentations at the theater with Yomo Toro y su Conjunto playing Rock 'n Roll in English, and singing Boleros in Spanish.

His also sang Rock 'n Roll songs such as "Prometo Recordarte" (I Promise to Remember You).

He made two appearances in a local New York television show, in which he sang "De Boca a Boca" (Mouth to Mouth) and several other Rock 'n Roll numbers.

Poventud participated in a comedy sketch with Mexican comedian Tin Tan and was invited by the comedian to join his act in Mexico, which he did, and there they recorded an album based on their act.

While in Mexico, he appeared and sang in Around the World in 80 Days, a movie based on a Jules Verne novel.

Also in Mexico, he participated in five recordings with the musical trio El Trio Los Panchos. In 1961, he returned to New York and married his high school sweetheart Norma Iris Guzman, with whom he had two children.

In 1964, Poventud filled in for Johnny Albino as a CBS musician with El Trio Los Panchos, when Albino could not sing because of a voice ailment.

This occurred during the recording of "More Amor" with Eydie Gorme.

Poventud went on to record the album Los Panchos by Special Request, a compilation of love songs recorded in English for CBS, with Albino.

He also, participated as the main guitarist and voice accompaniment in the recording of "Grandes Exitos de Johnny Albino con Los Panchos" with Albino.

In 1965 the light heavyweight boxing champion of the world, a Puerto Rican named José "Chegui" Torres, went to see one of Poventud's performances at Mexico's El Teatro Lirico and they became friends.

Eventually they were both invited to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, where Torres sang "Un Poco Mas" accompanied by Poventud and his guitar.

Poventud returned to New York, attended Boricua College in the Bronx, and became politically involved in the Puerto Rican independence movement around this time.

Together with his trio the Miguel Poventud y Su Trío, succeeded as a bolerista.

He tried his hand at singing Salsa and Ballads in the late sixties and early seventies, working with various "guitar trios" throughout New York.

In 1974 he agreed to participate in the album The Mambo Boys Classics together with Al Abreu (sax), Manny Duran (trumpet), Manny Corchado (percussion), Tito Puente (timbales), Ozzie Torrens (conga), Charlie Palmieri (piano) and Louie Ramirez (vibes).

Louie Ramirez and Chico Mendoza arranged the Salsa session, while Hector Garrido arranged the ballads.