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Cepeda (family of Bomba practitioners)

The Cepeda family of Bomba practitioners and performers is multi-generational and maintains a very strong presence in the San Juan metropolitan area of Puerto Rico as well as in the US-based diaspora, from California to Connecticut, where they are active representatives of their family’s history and Puerto Rico’s folkloric traditions. The roots of this family extend deeply into some of Puerto Rico’s most well- known municipalities.

This significant cultural family was established and nurtured by Rafael Cepeda Atiles (1908 – 1996) and Caridad Brenes Caballero (1914 – 1994) when they joined their lives in the early 1930s. Their children followed shortly thereafter and included Rafael (carrying his father’s name), Lucia (named after her paternal aunt who passed in 1931), Modesto (named for his paternal grandfather or his maternal uncle), Inocencia, Manuel (named after his paternal grandfather), Petra (named after her maternal grandmother), Daniel Ponciano, Carlos Enrique, Jesus Manuel, Mario, Roberto, Luis Daniel “Chichito”, and Orlando.

On the Cepeda side, the name traces back to at least the early to mid-1800s in Loiza. That lineage traces from Rafael Cepeda Atiles up to at least a great grandmother [original article by Melanie Maldonado, 2018. Please expand or suggest edits below].


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