with other women like Gladis Serrano, who was the wife of Daniel Santos. Rivera had five children: Ismael, Jr., Carlos, Margarita, Caridad, and Orquídea. In 1959, Rivera, together with Cortijo and his Combo, participated in the European produced movie titled Calipso, starring Harry Belafonte. He traveled with Cortijo's Combo, which also included Rafael Ithier and Roberto Roena, to Europe, Central and South America. Rivera was arrested for drug possession after a trip to Panama with the Cortijo combo. According to later reports, various band members regularly concealed illegal drug shipments, but this time the Customs inspectors were waiting for them. Rivera took the fall, sparing other members. But this event led to the break-up of Cortijo's Combo. Shortly after, Rafael Ithier regrouped some of the former members and formed El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. Upon his release from jail, Rivera formed his own band called Ismael Rivera and his Cachimbos. This successful band lasted for eight years. Rivera reunited with Cortijo and recorded "Juntos otra vez". Later, Rivera went solo and did well with the recordings of "El Sonero Mayor" and "Volare". He scored his greatest hit with "Las caras lindas (de mi gente negra)" written by Tite Curet Alonso. On May 14, 1974, Rivera participated in a concert at the Carnegie Hall which was recorded live. Rivera sang a song from Bobby Capó called "Dormir contigo". One of his last public performances was in Paris, as an opener for Bob Marley in 1978. Later years Rivera was a faithful pilgrim of the Black Christ procession in Portobelo, Panama, from 1975 to 1985, and even wrote a song about the Black Christ, known affectionately as "El Nazareno". Rivera was nicknamed "El Brujo de Borinquen" in Panama. The death of his childhood friend, Rafael Cortijo in 1982, affected him emotionally to the point that he could not sing in the tribute to Cortijo celebrated at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum. Rivera was actively involved in the creation of a historical museum, which depicts the contributions made to the cultural life of Puerto Rico by black Puerto Ricans. Ismael Rivera died on May 13, 1987, in the arms of his mother Margarita, from a heart attack. Rivera is buried in the San José Cemetery in Villa Palmeras in Santurce. Legacy On October 5, 2008, Puerto Rico's governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá signed a proclamation stating that every anniversary of Rivera's birth will be