During the 12 years that Joaquín Balaguer ruled, Fernando Casado recorded the Criollas “La Gaviota”, written by then political opponent Juan Bosch, and “Lucía”, written by Balaguer. In his concerts he always interpreted the composition of the then president first and then that of Bosch. He said this prevented him from getting into trouble with the regime that ruled the country from 1966 to 1978.
“The judge, Fernando Casado!” He gained prestige and popularity through the interpretation of boleros and romantic songs that amazed audiences, but even more so through the vocalization of “las criollas”, a style of romantic songs, the product of popular troubadours , mostly guitarists who have also inspired many cult composers extinct. former Presidents of the Republic, Balaguer and Bosch.
With memories that he keeps bringing back, with a calm voice and a look that plunges into the past, Fernando Casado recreates his years, from his childhood to his evolution into one of the main voices of Dominican song.
His past flies to La Normal School, where he has the privilege of being a student of the native country’s poet, Don Pedro Mir. From him he received instruction in astronomical geography. He was a good student and Pedro was much more to him than just a teacher, for their relationship was one of great respect and admiration.
They lived in the midst of the Trujillo dictatorship and by this time the teachers were being honored and rewarded for bringing the bread of education to the students. Always an excellent student, Fernando earned the respect of his teachers.
“Yes, it was a great privilege for me to have been a student of Pedro Mir. He was much more than a teacher, a distinguished person with elegance and a great person,” Casado recalled during a dialogue with Listín Diario journalists.
Fernando Casado, 91, at his home in Santo Domingo. JORGE MARTINEZ/LISTIN DIARIO
Fernando (March 4, 1932, San Jose de Ocoa), who was practically born with the Trujillo dictatorship was brought up very strictly. His parents were always involved in his education, although they divorced at a young age. His father lived with his family in the Villa Consuelo area of the capital and always visited him.
“Mom was tough, I remember one Sunday she dragged me by the leash to church while we were playing ball and I cried because I didn’t want to wear shorts because I already felt like I was old enough to be long.” to wear pants. “he recalled during a conversation with journalists from Listin Diario.
At the time, he was ashamed because wearing long pants meant you were already a “little man”.
At 91, sitting on the balcony of his humble apartment, surrounded by memories, he sees a large vegetation that he recreates and thanks God that he can see it every day.
“It’s a blessing from God to see the green from here,” he said while sipping his coffee.
Then he evokes unforgettable moments: “My grandfather was William Read, an Irishman who fell in love here with a black woman who was from Brazil. My grandmother didn’t marry him, so my father couldn’t take the surname Read, but his mother’s, Married. These are my true origins.”
Among his memories is how he survived the passage of the San Zenón cyclone (September 3, 1930) and as a result his family converted to the Evangelical Church. “I was born and raised in the evangelical church. Pastor Mr. Morgan helped my aunts and parents rebuild their homes.”
His history in media and art begins without any intention on his part to become a broadcaster, an actor, let alone a singer.
With this speech begins his public life at the radio stations HIN and HIZ. When José Arismendy-Petán-Trujillo (brother of the dictator) moved the La Voz del Yuna railway station to the capital in 1946 under the name La Voz Dominica. Casado is appointed to study speech technology and to become part of the speaker team of the well-known broadcaster.
Failure to follow any of the rules at La Voz Dominica resulted in his being expelled from there. Fernando recalls that his love for one of his classmates was reason enough for him to be expelled from school.
“It was forbidden because all the women were just for Petán, and I didn’t end up in jail because a family friend intervened, and I just lost my job,” he said.
THE RADIONOVELAS
At radio station HIN, Fernando Casado had excelled in radio soap operas, work he resumed after being banned from La Voz Dominica, a station he returned to a few years later.
He was an idol of the Dominican radio soap operas, where he happens to have the opportunity to sing and it is discovered that the young man has a beautiful voice.
THE SINGING
Casado is invited several times to sing on the radio shows broadcast live in Santo Domingo in the mid-20th century. “I’ve sung, incredibly, without the illusion of wanting to be an artist, anything that’s happened in my life that I’ve suggested,” he said.
It was during these years that Fernando began working at the country’s first private bank, Scotiabank, and his dedication led him to a managerial position. It was in this institution that the nickname “The Magistrate” originated. He remembers always calling judges to his clients to flatter them, and when he first started appearing on television, people remembered him by that nickname.
While working in the bank, Rafael Solano appeared to extend an invitation to sing on Rahintel’s “La hora del moro” on Channel 7 (broadcast 1959) and was produced by Solano, a Meridian music program with an artistic cast of young people, different from the programs of the channel La Voz Dominica.
“When Solano left, I said no, and the day I was going to give the presentation, I told my friends that Solano had invited me to the program and they convinced me to go. I showed up that day and what happened to my artistic career is history now,” he said.
From then on, “The Magistrate, Fernando Casado!” was heralded on radio and television and has since won a place in the hearts of Dominicans.
a bad night
Among the disagreements he experienced during the dictatorship, Casado recalls a bad night he spent with Rafael Solano, Elenita Santos and Joseíto Mateo, who were hired as singers for a New Year’s party at the dictator’s house on Avenida Máximo in 1960. gomez
The group was convened for 5:00 p.m. by the head of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM), the feared Johnny Abbes García. The hours passed and they were not called to sing, the artists sat in a room without being given, not even a glass of water, went to ask Angelita Trujillo, the dictator’s daughter, who turned to her father and let the evening begin immediately. . They had asked Abbes before, but he paid no attention.
Married, he recalled that they finished at 4am, he wasn’t even given water and it was a totally free performance because no one dared attack “the Trujillos”.
Fernando Casado, “A Spring for the World”
“A SPRINGTIME FOR THE WORLD”
In the 1970s, Latin America experienced dictatorial governments that prompted many poets and artists to sing for them, especially for freedom. In the country, the poet and publicist René del Risco Bermúdez was one of them and left one of his best creations, the song “A Spring for the World” recorded by Fernando Casado and music by Rafael Solano.
The story of this song, according to Casado, begins with a dream that Solano has about the music for the song of an event he is attending in Spain. “It was about two in the morning and Solano calls me at home to tell me that he dreamed of this tune. I told him to record it on his recorder and then we’ll see it tomorrow,” he says.
And so it happened when, in the morning, Casado and Solano commissioned the poet René del Risco to write the song, which he immediately did.
Nothing changed with the composition in Spain, but it remained one of the best compositions of all time in the Dominican songbook.
trajectory
As an actor, he shone with “El Chato” in “Caña Brava”, the first film shot in the country in 1965, and was the protagonist of the telenovela “María José”, together with the dancer Miriam Bello, also the first filmed in the Dominican Republic.
In 1972 Casado represented the country at the OTI Song Festival in Spain with “There will always be a smile on the moon” and in 1977 he won second place with the song “Al nacer cada enero” by Cheo Zorrilla.
in 1977 took part in the Miss Universe pageant, which was held in the Dominican Republic.
“How you kissed me”, Fernando Casado. Miss Universe 1977 – Dominican Republic
The magistrate was the host of The Fernando Casado Show on Channel 7 and The Fernando Casado Show on the Dominican Voice. He was also the one who started the Fiesta show on Teleantillas Channel 2 and hosted the Fernando Casado Show there.
Public life
Last month, the Bulevar de las Estrellas Foundation, chaired by journalist Carlos Batista, paid tribute to his artistic life along with Niní Cáffaro and Rafael Solano. He attended the ceremony with his family. On this day he received many compliments and congratulations.
A month earlier he was present at the tribute to the late actress Monina Solá. That night he confessed to us that thanks to the routine of exercising his body every day and not drinking alcohol, he managed to enjoy 91 wonderful years and in perfect health.
Lucia, Fernando Casado
“The Seagull”, Fernando Casado