Hidden Figures: Ruth Fernández #BlackHERstoryMonth 2/28 (Patreon)

Hidden Figures: Ruth Fernández #BlackHERstoryMonth 2/28

Ruth Fernández was a Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate. Born Ruth Noemí Fernández Cortada in the barrio Cuarto in Ponce, Puerto Rico, Fernández's mother died when she was six years old. She was raised along with her four other siblings by her grandmother. She received her primary and secondary education in her hometown, and as a child she learned to play the piano and was very active in her school and community's activities. In high school she organized her own musical group. She became a professional singer at the age of 14 when she would go to the local radio stations, WPRP and WPAB, and sing for 50 cents a day, in 1935. Fernandez was heard by Mingo, a bandleader of a locally popular band and was hired into his band in 1940. She then performed in nightclubs, dances and casinos. Fernández started to gain popularity and in 1941, at age 22, she was signed by Columbia Records with whom she recorded her first hit song, "Cuando Vuelvas." Her first appearance in New York City was in The Latin Theater of New York. There the Master of Ceremonies, Hector del Villar, introduced her as "El Alma de Puerto Rico Hecha Cancion” or "The Soul of Puerto Rico Turned Song." Fernández was the very first successful Afro-Puerto Rican female singer, and as such, she broke color barriers and stereotypes. The Mingo band was contracted to perform at a benefit for the American Red Cross in the Condado Vanderbilt Hotel on August 4, 1945. The director of the orchestra told her that according to the hotel's rules, she had to enter through the kitchen door like all other black musicians. Ruth however, did not follow the instructions and entered through the main entrance, driven by a chauffeur on a Packard automobile. She went on stage and performed before the astonished audience. When asked in a documentary years later how she felt about the incident, she replied: "They called me a negro. Negro? So what?" From that point on she proudly and constantly referred to herself, even in songs, as "La Negra de Ponce” or, "The Black Woman from Ponce," making reference to her racial heritage and her city of origin. As a legislator, Fernández sought many reforms and better working conditions for the artistic class. She also sought after the interests of Puerto Ricans living in the United States; a tenement in The Bronx, New York is named after her, Ruth Fernández Apartments. After her senatorial term was over, she served as a cultural advisor for Hernández Colón, and in 1990, she was selected by Imagen (Image) magazine as one of the ten most powerful women in Puerto Rico. Fernández retired from all activities in the 2000s, and she died in San Juan on 9 January 2012 of a septic shock and pneumonia. The government of Puerto Rico declared three days of national mourning for her death. She was buried in her hometown of Ponce at Cementerio Civil de Ponce. #HiddenFigures #RuthFernandez ****************** Merchandise! MAKE SURE U GETTA SHIRT!! https://www.teepublic.com/user/sssseren Follow me on social media! Twitter: @seren_sensei Instagram: @sensei_aishitemasu Personal Tumblr: http://sensei-aishitemasu.tumblr.com Tumblr for my work: https://sssseren.tumblr.com Snapchat: sssseren GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/tc5wh7q Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/seren_sensei ****************** Did you know I wrote a book? ☺️ 'So, About That... A Year of Contemporary Essays on Race and Pop Culture' Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/About-That-Contemporary-Essays-Culture-ebook/dp/B013V0CHK6 Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013V0CHK6 Digital download (e-book): https://gumroad.com/l/IkUa ****************** Links: 'Ruth Fernández, Singer and Senator in Puerto Rico, Dies at 92:' http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/14/arts/music/ruth-fernandez-singer-and-senator-in-puerto-rico-dies-at-92.html 'Puerto Rican Singer Ruth Fernandez Dies at 92:' https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/513335/puerto-rican-singer-ruth-fernandez-dies-at-92 Fernandez, Ruth - Artists of Puerto Rico: http://www.musicofpuertorico.com/index.php/artists/ruth_fernandez Ruth Fernández (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Fernández