Apr 21, 2026

FABIOLA MÉNDEZ

Puerto Rican cuatro
Quincy, Massachusetts

“The cuatro is part of me,” says bandleader Fabiola Méndez. “So everywhere I go, I'm going to bring the cuatro, I'm going to bring a little part of Puerto Rico.” Now making her home in Massachusetts, Méndez is at the forefront of a new generation bringing traditional Puerto Rican music to audiences across the world.

The cuatro, a smaller relative of the guitar, is central to the culture of the jibaros, the rural people of Puerto Rico. The cuatro originally had four—that is, cuatro—gut strings, but in the late 19th century, urban musicians attuned to the contemporary fashion for string orchestras reconfigured the cuatro to five double metal strings, in part to help its sound carry from stages and in packed dance halls. What did not change was the cuatro’s timeless role as the keeper of the melody in traditional ensembles, working in concert with the singer to give voice to the soul of Puerto Rican culture.

Cuatrista, singer, educator, and composer Fabiola Méndez grew up in Caguas, Puerto Rico, in a family that loved jibaro music. Her father was a dedicated amateur musician, so when he noticed the joy his young daughter felt holding his cuatro, he sought out a teacher for her. She started lessons at age six with Hector Rivera, a luthier who made sized-down cuatros for Fabiola and her small classmates. Among her other cherished teachers was Maribel Delgado, famous as the first woman to record a solo cuatro album; being invited on stage to perform with Delgado was a highlight of Méndez’s high school years, and they continue to collaborate today. Méndez left the island to attend Berklee College of Music, where she studied music education. There she found the faculty receptive to her desire to incorporate Puerto Rico’s iconic folk instrument into the curriculum, and her years at Berklee “expanded my vision of what’s possible with the cuatro.” In 2018, Méndez was Berklee’s first graduate with cuatro as their principal instrument.

Méndez began her professional career as a full-time music educator who performed on the side, but the turn towards digital performance and teaching during the pandemic quickly launched her into full-time work as a musician. Through her performances, which now range from Puerto Rican cultural centers across the country to the Boston Symphony Orchestra to NPR’s Tiny Desk, she brings an educator’s eye for the teachable moment and a cuatrista’s joy in sharing the rich sounds of Puerto Rico. Her reach is now international, with tours of Europe and India coming later this year. Méndez also works as a composer for the PBS Kids show “Alma’s Way,” and produced the documentary “Negrura,” which shares the stories of members of Boston’s Afro-Latin communities. She was honored as the 2023 Boston Music Awards Latin Artist of the Year.

At the Lowell Folk Festival, Fabiola Méndez performs with her quartet, which includes her longtime bandmates, percussionist Miguel Martinez, and father-and-son duo Juan Maldonado on bass and Adrian Maldonado on drums.