Alberto Zayas Govín (February 14, 1908 – 1983) was a

Cuban rumba Rumba is a secular genre of Cuban music involving dance, percussion, and song. It originated in the northern regions of Cuba, mainly in urban Havana and Matanzas, during the late 19th century. It is based on African music and dance traditions, ...

singer and songwriter who founded one of the first recorded rumba ensembles, Grupo Afrocubano Lulú Yonkori. He is considered one of the most important

guaguancó Guaguancó () is a subgenre of Cuban rumba, combining percussion, voices, and dance. There are two main styles: Havana and Matanzas. Percussion * battery of three conga drummers: the ''tumba'' (lowest), ''tres dos'' (middle, playing a counter-cl ...

vocalists/composers in the history of rumba.

Life and career

Alberto Zayas Govín was born in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood of

Matanzas Matanzas (Cuban ) is the capital of the Cuban province of Matanzas. Known for its poets, culture, and Afro-Cuban folklore, it is located on the northern shore of the island of Cuba, on the Bay of Matanzas (Spanish ''Bahia de Matanzas''), east ...

on February 14, 1908. When he was one year old his family moved to

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.

. At age 14 he lived in

El Cerro El Cerro is a village and municipality in the province of Salamanca, western Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon. It is located from the provincial capital city of Salamanca and has a population of 529 people. Geography The ...

district of Havana and sang in ''coros de clave'', the precursor ensembles of the

. There he earned the nickname "El Melodioso" (The Melodious One). In 1925 he moved to

Guanabacoa Guanabacoa is a colonial township in eastern Havana, Cuba, and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) of the city. It is famous for its historical Santería and is home to the first African Cabildo in Havana. Guanabacoa was briefly the capital ...

, another district of Havana. According to several accounts, Zayas played with several son ensembles such as Sexteto Habanero and Sexteto Boloña, before focusing on rumba and other Afro-Cuban genres. Zayas became a collaborator of ethnomusicologist Fernando Ortiz and in 1941 he invited anthropologist

Harold Courlander Harold Courlander (September 18, 1908 – March 15, 1996) was an American novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist and an expert in the study of Haitian life. The author of 35 books and plays and numerous scholarly articles, Courlander speciali ...

to an

Abakuá Abakuá, also sometimes known as Ñañiguismo, is an Afro-Cuban men's initiatory fraternity or secret society, which originated from fraternal associations in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. Abakuá ...

ceremony in Guanabacoa. This meeting yielded part of the 10 hours of recorded material that are kept at the Archives of Traditional Music (

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. * Indiana Univers ...

), some of which were released by

Folkways Records Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways. History The Folkways Records & Servic ...

in 1951 under the title ''Cult Music of Cuba''. During the 1950s, his ensemble, Grupo Afrocubano Lulú Yonkori, featured lead singers Roberto Maza and Carlos Embale, backing vocalists Adriano Rodríguez, Bienvenido León, Mercedes Romay and Juanita Romay, and percussionists Giraldo Rodríguez and Gerardo Valdés among others. They recorded four LPs for

Panart Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacio ...

, which have been called "some of the first authentic rumba recordings in Cuban history" by ethnomusicologist Ivor Miller (

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a public university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a campus of the University of Nigeria until 1975 ...

). The first one was ''Guaguancó afro-cubano'' (1956), which featured the hit "El vive bien", penned by Zayas. It was followed by ''El guaguansón'' (1957), credited to "Alfredito Zayas y su Grupo Folklórico". The next record was ''Afro-frenetic. Tambores de Cuba'' (1958), and in July 1959 the band released a conga album ''Congas y comparsas del carnaval habanero'' (Side-B included recordings by Carlos Barbería). In 1961, Impresora Cubana de Discos released two tracks by Zayas' ensemble with

Pacho Alonso Pacho Alonso (August 22, 1928 – August 27, 1982) was a Cuban singer and bandleader from Santiago de Cuba who is attributed with creating the musical form pilón in collaboration with percussionist/composer Enrique Bonne. He founded his first Con ...

on lead vocals. Zayas would continue his career in theatre shows and radio broadcasts, and he toured abroad as director of the Grupo Folklórico Cubano. Zayas died in 1983 in Guanabacoa.

Discography

Albums

*1956: ''Guaguancó afro-cubano'' (

) *1957: ''El guaguansón'' (Panart) *1958: ''Afro-frenetic. Tambores de Cuba'' (Panart) **1959: ''Hi-Fi Cuban Drums'' (reissue,

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

) *1959: ''Congas y comparsas del carnaval habanero'' (Panart) *2001: ''El yambú de los barrios'' (compilation, Tumbao Cuban Classics)

Singles

*1955: El vive bien / Congo mulenze (Panart) *1956: La chapalera / Que me critiquen (Panart) *1956: Se corrió la cocinera / Tata Perico (Panart) *1956: Una rumba en la bodega / El yambú de los barrios (Panart) *1956: Ya no tengo amigos / A mi no me tocan campana (Panart)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zayas, Alberto 1908 births 1983 deaths 20th-century Cuban male singers Cuban songwriters Male songwriters Cuban bandleaders Cuban percussionists Musicians from Havana Rumba singers