| My purposes in this dissertation were three: to outline the main events in the lives of the Figueroa-Sanabia family of musicians in a systematic fashion and to highlight the contributions of each, to compile a preliminary bibliography of extant materials written by or pertaining to the family, and to present memorabilia characteristic of their musical lives.;The primary source of information for this work was a collection of 15 notebooks and diaries of Jesus Figueroa that remain in the Figueroa-Sanabia collection. The most important is the 1905-1934 Notebook, which documents most of the family musical life since the beginning of this century in Puerto Rico, Spain, and France. Additional material was found in the "Colleccion Puertorriquena" at the University of Puerto Rico library, the Historical Archive in San Juan, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, the Ateneo Puertorriqueno, and the Conservatory of Music in San Juan. Family members also made available clippings, articles, audiotapes, photographs, and other memorabilia that are now part of the Figueroa-Sanabia Family Collection.;Chapter II describes how data from the variety of sources were unearthed and analyzed. Analysis depended heavily on establishing trends and cross-checking these with family members and other materials.;Chapter III provides an overview of the political, social, and musical contexts in addition to a review of available published material that refers to the Figueroa-Sanabia family. Chapters IV and in present a narrative chronology of the musical lives and contributions of family members from the birth of Jesus Figueroa to the present. These chronologies are supplemented by a genealogical table and by a time line that relate happenings in the family to other local and global events.;An extensive bibliography includes a listing of newspaper clippings pertaining to family members. The appendixes provide additional information on the activities of family members and samples of the memorabilia in the Figueroa-Sanabia family collection. Recommendations for further work include suggestions for extended bibliographies, the organization of the archival collection, children's books and materials, and extending the study of both musician and non-musician members of the family. |
