Abelardo Barroso Dargeles (21 September 1905 – 27 September 1972) was a Cuban bandleader and singer, the first sonero mayor (lead singer of the
son
A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative.
Social issues
In pre-industrial societies and some curren ...
) to be recognized as such by the Cuban public.
Born in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. , Cuba, he was the lead singer of the
Sexteto Habanero from 1925, recorded with the
Sexteto Boloña in 1926, and joined the
Septeto Nacional de
Ignacio Piñeiro
Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez (May 21, 1888 – March 12, 1969) was a Cuban musician, bandleader and composer whose career started in rumba and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total he w ...
in 1927. With each of these top bands he made a string of recordings in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and for the rest of his life his voice was in demand.
In 1929–1930 he joined the stage variety group Salmerón, with whom he toured Spain. Returning to Cuba in 1931, he joined the Orquesta Ernesto Muñoz. In 1933 he founded the
charanga ''López–Barroso'' with
Orestes López. He appeared alternately with this band and with the Sexteto Universo, and in 1935 founded the Sexteto Pinin. There followed spells with the bands of Andrés Laferté and Everado Ordaz before, in 1939, he joined the important charanga
Maravillas del Siglo and performed on ''Radio COCO''. During the 1940s he worked at the cabaret Sans-Souci until 1948, when he directed and sang for the National Police Band. After a short hiatus, he joined Rolando Valdés'
Orquesta Sensación, which would spearhead the second great charanga movement (the first wave included
Antonio Arcaño y sus Maravillas
Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular ...
and
Melodías del 40). They won the Disco de Oro for a recording of "En Guantánamo" and "Arráncame la vida". With La Sensación he appeared in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
in 1957 and in New York in 1959 and 1960. He retired in 1969.
Discography
* ''Cha Cha Chá,'' album,
World Circuit (2014)
See also
*
Puchito Records
*
Puchito Records discography
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barroso, Abelardo
1905 births
1972 deaths
20th-century Cuban male singers
Cuban bandleaders
Cuban charanga musicians
People from Havana