Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso (February 26, 1926 – August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000 salsa songs.

Early years

Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso) was born in

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama ( es, Municipio Autónomo de Guayama) is a city and municipality on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 36,614. It is the ...

, a town located in the southern region of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. Curet Alonso's mother was a seamstress and his father a

Spanish language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

teacher and musician who played in the band of Simón Madera. He was two years old in 1928, when his parents divorced and together with his mother and sister moved to Barrio Obrero, located in the Santurce section of

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

with his grandmother. His daily life experiences while living in Barrio Obrero greatly influenced his work as a composer. There he was raised by his grandmother and received his primary and secondary education. In 1941, when he was 15 years old, he wrote his first song. Among his childhood friends were

Rafael Cortijo Rafael Antonio Cortijo (December 11, 1928 – October 3, 1982) was a Puerto Rican musician, orchestra leader, composer and percussion instrument craftsman. Early Career As a child, Cortijo became interested in Caribbean music and enjoyed th ...

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, and Daniel Santos.

Career as a song composer

After he graduated from high school, he enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5, ...

where he studied journalism and sociology. He worked for the

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, a job which he held for more than twenty years. All the while he continued to compose songs. In 1960, he moved to New York City and worked for the newspaper "Diario/La Prensa" as a sports columnist. In 1965, Curet Alonso met salsa singer Joe Quijano who recorded Alonso's ''Efectivamente'' which became a hit. Curet Alonso developed a unique style of his own which is known as "salsa with a conscience". He wrote songs about social and romantic themes which told about the situation of the poor Afro–Puerto Ricans and the hardships that they faced. He also focused many of his songs on what he called the beauty of the black Caribbeans. Throughout his life, Curet Alonso composed over two thousand songs. Arguably, about 200 of these were hit songs, and about 50 of these were major salsa hits. Some of the people who have interpreted his songs are: Joe Quijano,

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, Wilkins,

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, Tito Rodríguez,

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, Tony Croatto,

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz ...

Ismael Miranda Ismael Miranda, also known as ''El Niño Bonito de la Salsa'' ("The Pretty Boy of Salsa") (born February 20, 1950) is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter. Early years Miranda (birth name: Ismael Miranda Carrero ) was born in Aguada, Puerto Rico ...

, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Marvin Santiago,

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, Andy Montañez,

, Tommy Olivencia, and

Frankie Ruiz José Antonio Torresola Ruiz better known as Frankie Ruiz (March 10, 1958 – August 9, 1998) was an American salsa singer and songwriter of Puerto Rican descent. He was a major figure in the ''salsa romántica'' subgenre that was popular in the ...

. His song ''Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra)'' (The Beautiful Faces (Of My Black People) recorded by

, is considered by many in Puerto Rico as a classic. In addition to salsa, Curet Alonso also composed samba, Airto Moreira being one of the interpreters of his work in that genre. ''Samba de Flora,'' interpreted by Airto, is one of many he composed.

Later years

Curet Alonso married and had a daughter and son. The marriage didn't last long and he and his wife separated. Despite the fact that the songs he wrote sold millions of records, his royalties were minimal. According to his family, Curet Alonso was tricked into signing contracts which favored the recording studios and the publishing company "ACEMLA", and not him. In spite of their great popularity in the hearts of 'salseros' around the world his music was banned from Puerto Rican radio stations for decades by the strong-arm tactics of the music publishing company ACEMLA (Asociación de Compositores y Editores de Música Latinoamericana). ACEMLA sued every venue (radio, TV, CATV, municipalities, hotels, restaurants, etc., and even the Catholic Church) in Puerto Rico and every salsa radio station in New York City for copyright infringement of every song ever written by Curet Alonso, including songs that were already licensed by other publishing companies. In 2009, US Federal Court in San Juan released 695 songs originally licensed to Fania, but the rest of the catalog is still in ACEMLA's hands, and the legal battles continue.

Legacy

Tite Curet Alonso died on August 5, 2003 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

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. Richie Viera, a Puerto Rican and William Nazaret, a

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

n, both friends of Curet Alonso, made sure that his body was transferred to Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico he was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

. First the wake was held at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture with an honor guard, then at Puerto Rico's Capitol building in San Juan, and then at San Juan City Hall. Finally he was interred in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in Old San Juan.

suspended some dates from his "farewell" tour (before becoming the Minister of Tourism for

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

) to attend Curet Alonso's funeral.

, one of his closest friends, was one of the many famous pallbearers in attendance. A posthumous collection of music composed by Tite Curet Alonso, the two-disc ''Alma de Poeta'', was published in 2009. A life-sized statue honoring Curet Alonso now (literally) sits at San Juan's Plaza de Armas, in Curet Alonso's favorite bench spot.

Notes

References

External links

Biography, Photos, Lyrics (SalsaClasica.com)"Tite Curet Alonso"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curet Alonso, Tite 1926 births 2003 deaths Burials at Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery People from Guayama, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican composers Puerto Rican people of African descent Salsa music Latin music composers United States Postal Service people