REMEMBERING RAYMOND GONZALEZ JR

By Noel Serrano

 

Raymond Gonzalez Jr, The  beloved son, brother and uncle of the Gonzalez and Figueroa Families quietly passed away this past weekend. The news of his passing was unbelievably  surreal and hit   a devastating blow to the chests of all who knew and loved him. Raymond was a quiet and stoic soul with a smile that lighted a  room. He was not a man of many words and his silence increased his power to communicate by way of his music. Raymond was a superb and accomplished  trumpet player who learned to master those high notes in his early years with his Uncle Raul  Gonzalez and his Father, Raymond Sr. Raymond JR ,who was known as Cuco  or Ququito  by his close friends, was brought up in an environment of music and his deep passion was demonstrated in every note  as he mastered that glaring and  glowing trumpet with clarity and precision.

 

My memory went back  to the halcyon years of the early 1960s as I grew to admire this tall Trumpet player who lifted that trumpet to the sky and  the clarion call resounded throughout  the Great Sanctuary of the beloved home church "La Sinagoga"  As a young man , Raymond was close friends of Frank Serrano and Ariel Bosch. He would often come to our home in Queens to hang out with my brother Frank and jam and talk about music. Their badinage was inspiring and alluring. Raymond was the type of young man that everyone wanted to hand with him. He had a magnetic personality and a gentleman's charm that was attributed in part to his impeccable manners and his love and mastery of music. It is said that : 

“The trumpet does no more stun you by its loudness, than a whisper teases you by its provoking inaudibility”

 

Raymond Gonzalez Jr played  his trumpet with grace and  audible agility. He was able to achieve great success when he later joined  Tito Puente and his Band in the  early 1980s, I last saw Raymond in a visit that I made to La Sinagoga in  December of 1986. He had decided to return  to his roots and to seek the Lord. we recalled his friendship with my Brother and Cousins and he always declare" You remind me of your brother Frank" In the later years he joined with us in the Gala Effort, becoming a member since 2009. We would stay in contact through text and e-mails. His Sister, Raquel always kept me posted on her beloved brother. We want to take this opportunity to send our deepest condolences  to the Gonzalez and Figueroa Families on behalf of the many Families of the Gala Foundation. We are with you! We share in your grief at the passing of  a beloved soul and we pray that god will grant you  the comfort in the realization that Raymond has gone to his reward. He has won the race! and He is now in the Loving Arms of our Great Redeemer, and we have the hope that the world does not share...we will all be with Him, one day.