GORO

Hello, my name is Jose J. Rivera better known as "GORO" to those who know me. I come from a humble family. I was born in Cayey Puerto Rico. My Parents Juan and Librada Rivera decided to move to a small town called Aibonito, in the center of the island, which I am very proud of. In Aibonito I got my education and learned to play my first guitar notes when I was 11 years old. I finished High School and decided to move to New York. I went there eager to get ahead and be successful so I started playing with local "trios" and small bands at Social Clubs in Bronx, NY little by little I started learning more and switched the guitar for a Bass and was known for being a bass player in the 70's. Luckily I started playing with Mr. Wayne Gorbea and his Salsa group as bass player and singer. I played and sang for a while and I got the urge I sat down and started listening to the greatest Salsa performers like The Fania All Star, Johnny Pacheco, Ismael Miranda, Ray Barreto and above all the Conjunto Clasico. One of my dreams was to play with all the big artists. It occurred to me I could buy a guitar and turn it into a "Tres". I sat sown and studied it for about 6 months and went outplaying the Tres pretty good. Luckily, two gentlemen were looking for a Tres player to record. It happened to be Hector Velazquez and Edwin Ortiz, who formed the Conjunto Nativo. In th 80's I had my second professonal recording. We played for two years and alternated with all the great musicians. Time went by and I received a very important call. It was none other than Jose Alberto El Canario. In 1983 he decided to break up with La Tipica 73 and start his own band, of which I was fortunate to be a member and I was really proud of working with Jose Alberto for 3 years through all the clubs in NY Outside of New York I was fortunate and was proud to work with artist like Mr. Cheo Feliciano, Bobby Capo, Ismael Miranda, and above all the Great Queen, the Rumba dancer of Cuba the one and only Ms. Celia Cruz who we had the honor to work with during a short tour in Europe.With "El Canario" I played around in the most prestigious clubs in the Nation and out. In 1986 I received the call I had been waiting for Mr. Ray Castro Director of the "Conjunto Clasico" with Cubby Tito Nieves when Senora Ley, Piraguero, and Los Rodriguez were hits, the rest is history. With this Band I worked in places like Broadway96, El Corso, Club 80's, Casa Boringquen, Casino14, The Palladium, Copa Cabana, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Central and South America. It was a very nice experience.I then joined Mr. Santiago Ceron's Band I shared and enjoyed it a lot because he is a great Singer. Then came Mr. Roberto Navarro, Pianist, Composer and Group Director of Facinacion Band. He decided to start La Tipica 88, to which I belonged as Tres Players and Choir with Musicians like Eddie Montalvo, Jimmy Busch, Jorge Gonzales, and Jorge Delgado. They were the best. For a long time we worked in all the clubs in New York. Then I became a member of Rey Reyes Group, Junior Gonzales and many other locals. To conclude, I had the honor to be part of the choir with Mr Rafael DeJusus and his Band for a little while. My Wife and I decided to change the scenery and moved to Florida in 1997 and we came to Ocala were we lived for a year. We later moved to Orlando. There I started to meet and had the honor of playing with Mr.Chamaco Rivera and his Band:also with Ralfi Santiz and his Band. It is a pleasure and I am proud to present Central Florida my delicious music the way I know how to make it for all dancers. My most sincere thanks to a long time friend in Central Florida Mr. Eddie Vazquez for his help in promoting my music in the Radio also to my Fans last but not least a Special thanks to my Wife Lydia Geigel-Rivera for her assistance in this project. May God Bless Everyone Today, Tomorrow and Always.Here is my project fulfilled GORO Y SU CONJUNTO GALA