His actual birthdate is unknown. Per the 1910 U.S. census taken in the Cepeda Atiles home on April 30th of that year, Rafael was already two years old. His mother Leonor is listed as having five pregnancies with four of those children being alive as of the date of the census. Later archival documentation indicates, […]

Per his marriage record to Leonor Atiles Aviles dated August 5, 1902, Modesto reported being 26 years old, being originally from Loiza, and living at that time in the capital city of San Juan. He identifies his parents as don Manuel and Doña Carolina. He had five known children with Leonor: Modesta (about 1901), Lucia […]

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 […]