Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso (February 12, 1926 – August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

songs.

Early years

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

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, a town located in the southern region of

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. 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 languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

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 (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

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, Ismael Rivera, and Daniel Santos.

Career as a song composer

After he graduated from Central High School in Santurce, he enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

where he studied

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. 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 Afro–Puerto Ricans (), most commonly known as Puerto Rico#Etymology , Afroboricuas, but also occasionally referred to as ''Afroborinqueños,'' ''Afroborincanos'', or ''Afropuertorros,'' are Puerto Ricans of full or partial Sub-Saharan Africa, ...

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, Iris Chacón, Wilkins,

Cheo Feliciano Cheo Feliciano (3 July 1935 – 17 April 2014) was a Puerto Rican singer and composer of salsa and bolero music. Feliciano was the owner of a recording company called "Coche Records". He was the first tropical singer to perform at the "Amira ...

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 ...

, La Lupe,

Willie Colón William Anthony Colón Román (born April 28, 1950) is a Puerto Rican and American Salsa musician and social activist. He began his career as a trombonist but also sings, writes, produces and acts. Colón was a pioneer of Salsa music and a be ...

Tito Rodríguez Pablo Rodríguez Lozada (January 4, 1923 – February 28, 1973), better known as Tito Rodríguez, was a Puerto Rican singer and bandleader. He started his career singing under the tutelage of his brother, Johnny Rodríguez. In the 1940s, both m ...

Olga Guillot Olga Guillot (October 9, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was a Cuban singer who was known as the "Queen of Bolero". She was a native of Santiago de Cuba. Biography Daughter of Catalan-Jewish immigrants who moved to Cuba, her father was a tailor and her ...

Mon Rivera Mon Rivera is the common name given to two distinct Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican musicians (both born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez), namely Monserrate Rivera Alers (originally nicknamed Rate, later referred to as "Don Mon", or Mon T ...

Héctor Lavoe Héctor Juan Pérez Martínez (September 30, 1946 – June 29, 1993), better known as Héctor Lavoe, was a Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican salsa music, salsa singer. Widely regarded as one of salsa’s most important and influential vocalist ...

Ray Barretto Raymundo "Ray" Barretto Pagán (April 29, 1929 – February 17, 2006) was an American percussionist and bandleader of Puerto Rican descent. Throughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Lati ...

, 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 – May 31, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, timbalero, and record producer. He composed dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz music. He was also k ...

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, Willie Rosario, Menudo,

Chucho Avellanet Armando Hipólito Avellanet González, nicknamed "Chucho", is a Puerto Rican singer and comedic actor of Spanish-Catalan descent. Avellanet was involved with the Nueva ola movement in the 1960s. See also * List of Puerto Ricans This is a ...

, Andy Montañez, Rafael Cortijo,

Tommy Olivencia Tommy Olivencia (May 15, 1938 – September 22, 2006) was a renowned Puerto Rican bandleader of salsa music. Early years Olivencia (birth name: Ángel Tomás Olivencia Pagán) was born in the Villa Palmeras section of Santurce, San Juan, Puert ...

, and

Frankie Ruiz José Antonio Torresola Ruiz, better known as Frankie Ruiz (March 10, 1958 – August 9, 1998), was a Puerto Rican singer. He was a major figure in the salsa romántica subgenre that was popular in the 1980s and early 1990s. During his youth, ...

. His song ''Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra)'' (The Beautiful Faces (Of My Black People) recorded by Ismael Rivera, is considered by many in Puerto Rico as a classic. In addition to salsa, Curet Alonso also composed samba,

Airto Moreira Airto Guimorvan Moreira (born August 5, 1941) is a Brazilian jazz drummer, composer and percussionist. He is married to jazz singer Flora Purim, and their daughter Diana Moreira is also a singer. Coming to prominence in the late 1960s as a membe ...

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 Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

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

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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 protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. 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, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

) 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