Adolfo Columbo (

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

, 1868 –

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

, who sang regularly with Claudio García (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

) in the theatre and on recordings. He also recorded with Regino López and other artists between 1906 and 1929. In 1908 he joined the ''Cuarteto Villalón'' with García, Emilio Reinoso (

mandolin A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...

), and

Alberto Villalón Alberto Villalón Morales (7 June 1882 in Santiago de Cuba – 16 July 1955 in Havana) was one of the greatest musicians in the Cuban trova style. He was the only one of the 'four greats' of the trova to come from a well-to-do family. Villalón ...

(

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

). This was an early precursor 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 current ...

groups that developed later in Havana. Their repertoire included

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It h ...

s and other Cuban genres such as

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

s, a genre which owed its origin to the theatre. One that has been reissued by ''Harlequin'' reveals a funky number which is hard to categorize. Listed as a

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

, it is perhaps better described as a ''guaracha-son''. The artists singing are Colombo and Claudio García, the guitar probably

, plus an unknown musician playing what may be a ''tres'' guitar; there is also a

clavé Clavé () is a Communes of France, commune in the Deux-Sèvres Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in western France. See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department References

Co ...

. All three named players were white, yet the number is creole, almost Afro-Cuban, in style. ''Mamá Teresa'' is still quite well known today in Cuba, and has been recorded by many other groups: :Mamá Teresa se va... :Mamá Teresa se va... :Porque no quiere bailar la rumba :Con Juan que tiene la pata gamba ::(Mama Teresa's leaving... ::Mama Teresa's leaving... ::'Coz she don't wanna dance rumba ::With Juan an' his lame foot) Theatre and

theatrical music Theatre music refers to a wide range of music composed or adapted for performance in theatres. Genres of theatre music include opera, ballet and several forms of musical theatre, from pantomime to operetta and modern stage musicals and revues. Ano ...

were hugely important in Cuba in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. The

zarzuela () is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular songs, as well as dance. The etymology of the name is uncertain, but some propose it may derive from the name o ...

s (light one-act operettas) and bufos (ribald satirical comedy) both included songs with content about contemporary political and social events. They played a part in the creole movement for the emancipation of slaves and the independence of Cuba. They played a part in criticising governments, lampooning public figures and poking fun at the behaviour of men and women. Most of the recordings Colombo made are now lost, but lyrics have largely survived, and some have been reprinted. There was a long-standing debate about Colombo's place of birth and origin, which has now been settled by the recent publication of his place of birth as the Canary Islands.Giro Radamés 2007. ''Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba''. La Habana. volume 1, p244.

References

External links

Discography of Adolfo Colombo
on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) {{DEFAULTSORT:Colombo, Adolfo 1868 births 1953 deaths 19th-century Cuban male singers Cuban male musical theatre actors 19th-century Cuban male actors