Eusebio Delfín y Figueroa (1 April 1893 in Palmira – 28 April 1965 in

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.Cuban banker and musician, recognized for the introduction of

arpeggio An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords. Arpe ...

to Cuban popular music, as well as for his numerous compositions, interpreted by the

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Omara Portuondo Omara Portuondo Peláez (born 29 October 1930) is a Cuban singer and dancer. A founding member of the popular vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida, Portuondo has collaborated with many important Cuban musicians during her long career, including Julio G ...

, and others.

Biography

Nicknamed "''The Aristocrat Trobadour''", Eusebio Delfín was born in Palmira to a Spanish-Italian aristocratic family. His father, Ramón Delfín, was the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

''corregidor'' for trade in

Cienfuegos Cienfuegos (), capital of Cienfuegos Province, is a city on the southern coast of Cuba. It is located about from Havana and has a population of 178,368 in 2022. Since the late 1960s, Cienfuegos has become one of Cuba's main industrial centers, ...

(by

Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

of 1898), and the consular representative for the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. His brother Ramón María Delfín wrote the novel "''La Gloria de la Familia''" ("''The Glory of the Family''"). In Cienfuegos, Eusebio was trained as an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

, hoping he could build a career in finance. He eventually became the director of the ''Banco Comercial'', and married Amalia Bacardi y Cape, daughter of rum-magnate

Emilio Bacardí Emilio Bacardí y Moreau (1844–1922) was a Cuban industrialist, politician, and writer who managed the Bacardi, Bacardi Rum Company and served as the first democratically elected mayor of Santiago de Cuba, Santiago. Biography Emilio Bacardí y ...

, senator and mayor of

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

. Their only child, Eusebio Delfín y Bacardí, was the president of Compañía Cubana de Aviación until the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

Musical legacy

Delfín studied violin and flute, but soon switched to guitar and song. His guitar teacher was Fernando Barrios, and his singing coach was Vincente Sánchez Torralba. He also studied guitar and song, and sang in public for the first time in 1916 at a charitable venue held at the Terry Theatre in

. Beginning in 1921, he recorded many Cuban songs, both solo and in duets with partners such as

Rita Montaner Rita Aurelia Fulcida Montaner y Facenda (20 August 1900 – 17 April 1958), known as Rita Montaner, was a Cuban singer, pianist and actress. In Cuban parlance, she was a '' vedette'' (a star), and was well known in Mexico City, Paris, Miami and ...

. The first 78rpm with Montaner was ''Pensamiento'' (by Rafael Gómez, 'Teofilito'). In 1922 he organised, with

Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (3 April 1874, in Havana – 7 September 1944) was a Cuban composer, and an author of books on the history of Cuban folk music. The outstanding habanera ''Tú'', written when he was sixteen, was his best-known com ...

, concerts of typical Cuban music in Havana and Cienfuegos. A relatively wealthy man, Delfín donated much of his royalties to charity in Cienfuegos. According to

Guyún Vicente González Rubiera (27 October 1908 – 29 September 1987), better known as Guyún, was an influential Cuban guitarist, harmonist and teacher, who tapped into classical guitar techniques to revive the accompaniment of the trova. He achie ...

, Delfin was responsible for changing the style used to accompany boleros. In the 1920s,

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 were often accompanied by guitar in ''rayado'' or ''rasgueado'' manner (~strumming); Delfin changed that to a semi-

style (~picking). He also repeated the rhythm by time and a half, leaving the weak part of the second beat silent. His style became widely popular. His compositions include poetry put to music, such as ''La Guinda'', from a poem by Pedro Mata, and he also wrote his own lyrics, such as ¿''Y Tú Qué Has Hecho?'' (aka ''En El Tronco De Un Árbol''.), ''Ansia'' and ''Qué Boca La Tuya'' At the soirées of the rich he sang boleros, with the result that the wealthy young became enthusiastic about the guitar.Sublette, Ned 2004. ''Cuba and its music: from the first drums to the mambo''. p306 Chicago. His best-known classic, ''¿Y Tú Qué Has Hecho?'' appeared in the 1997 Buena Vista Social Club debut album, considered one of the most important musical albums of all time, according to

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known ...

. According to her own account, the same song was being sung by

when discovered.

References

*Ezequiel Rodríguez 1966. ''Homenaje a Eusebio Delfín''. La Habana. {{DEFAULTSORT:Delfin, Eusebio 1893 births 1965 deaths Cuban male singer-songwriters Cuban singer-songwriters Cuban male guitarists 20th-century Cuban composers 20th-century Cuban guitarists 20th-century Cuban male singers