Alonso Brito (born 1950) is a Latin, alternative, salsa singer, songwriter born 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.[Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>, Cuba. The <div class=)
has compared him to "part
Mick Jagger, part Caetano Veloso, and part Desi Arnaz on acid" and as a face for Los Angeles salsa music. During his time in Miami as a socialite he was known to have owned many nightclubs and rubbed shoulders with the likes of
Barry Gibb
Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Along with his younger fraternal twin brothers, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, he rose to global fame as a member ...
and
Donald Fagen.
Life and music career
Early life
Brito was born in La Havana, Cuba in 1950. At the age of 10, a year after Fidel Castro took power in 1960, Brito was forced to leave due to political and civil unrest.
Moving to Miami at a young age he attended an all-boys Catholic prep school. Somewhat Catholic he still practiced Buddhism as well as Afro-Cuban
Santería
Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...
.
Musical rise
Brito's first instrument was the drum, which he played in psychedelic rock bands.
He fronted hard-working bands such as Watchdog and Beat Poets, dabbling in styles from smooth jazz, reggae, and British pop to a Latin-tinged style dubbed "troparock."
In Miami, he was known as Dennis Britt; an eclectic musician, nightclub manager, and a night time socialite who rubbed shoulders with the likes of Barry Gibb and Donald Fagen. After separating from his wife he became a fixture of the Miami music scene during the '80s and '90s. "The singer spent his life as a bohemian troubadour, playing in bars, working in various bands and writing songs."
As a respected songwriter he moved to Nashville in the 90s to help write songs for
Raul Malo and
The Mavericks; contributing to the country band's
Grammy-award winning playlists writing for their song "Things I Cannot Change".
Alonso Brito moved to Los Angeles in 2006, signed with Candor Entertainment and is currently working on the record Santo Bueno to be released in 2008.
Discography
See also
*
Music of Cuba
*
Afro-Cuban
*
List of Famous Afro-Latinos
References
External links
Official website*
Alonso Britoat Myspace
Alonso Britoarticle NewsOK
with
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
Alonso Britowith
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brito, Alonso
1950 births
Living people
Cuban musicians