Teresin Jaen

Teresín Jaén was considered the most popular Panamanian cumbia musician of the 20th century, born in the corregimiento of La Palmira in the district of Las Tablas in the province of Los Santos on June 23rd, 1942. When he was young he and his family moved to El Sesteadero, where he grew up and where his father was dedicated to agriculture. From an early age he played the accordion with ease, usually using the accordion of his brother Salvador Jaén. The first songs he played were "Me Voy Con Soledad" (I'm Going With Soledad) and "Comiendo Caramelos" (Eating Candies) which were popular during his childhood and adolescence. His first performance was in a small village called Quindi in the district of Pedasí in the 1950s. He had to replace his brother on the accordion because he was injured. Teresín also played the churuca (a Panamanian guiro) for 25 cents. His first presentation outside the province of Los Santos was in the province of Chiriquí, along with his group Conjunto Alma Interiorana. His first record, released by Grabaciones Luna in 1961, was Rosa / Borracho Y Amanecido, which sold 20,000 copies, a record at the time in Panama. His nicknames were "El Zurdito De Oro" (The Golden Lefty) and "El Taquillero" (The King of the Box Office) because his shows were always full and sold out. He was also one of the best paid accordionists of the time, earning $20,000 in 4 days during the Carnaval of 1975. He had a hard time managing his fame, often falling into excesses, and he also suffered from alcoholism. He had 8 cars of the highest cylinder for the time. His personal life was very controversial, he had many children with various lovers all over the country. Later in life his popularity faded and he went into poverty in the early 1990s. He was abandoned by his family and friends, his house was in ruins, and he lived alone. Only his cousin César Jaén visited to pay for utilities and food. In a 2002 interview he said that he had been living this way for the past 12 years. He died on August 8th, 2004 when he was hit by a car. On the night of his death hundreds of fans and friends gathered at Belisario Porras Park in the city of Las Tablas. His funeral was presided over by the bishop of the diocese of the provinces of Herrera and Los Santos, in the legendary Church Tableña de Santa Librada, where hundreds of people gathered, including several Panamanian musicians and accordionists. His remains lie in the Francisco González Roca cemetery in Las Tablas. In his lifetime he recorded 580 singles, 1 CD, and 4 LPs.