Consuelo Velázquez (August 21, 1916–January 22, 2005), was a Mexican songwriter. According to her obituary she was 88 years old when she died. Most music resources, however, list her birth date as August 29, 1924 in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico.
Velázquez was the songwriter and lyricist of many Latin standard songs, such as Amar y vivir, Verdad amarga, Franqueza, Que seas feliz, Cachito, Enamorada and, most notably, the enduring 1940s-era standard Bésame mucho, a romantic ballad which was soon recorded by artists around the globe, making it an international hit.
Velázquez, who is said to have begun playing the piano at the age of four, started her professional career as a classical music concert pianist, performing at Palacio de Bellas Artes and XEQ Radio, but later became a singer and recording artist. According to Velázquez herself, she was strongly influenced by Spanish composer Enrique Granados.
Velázquez also was elected to the Mexican Congress, served as president for SACM (Society of Authors and Composers of Mexico), and was vice-president of CISAC (International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies). She died of respiratory problems in Mexico City. Velázquez had been in hospital since she suffered a fall in November 2004.
Gonzalo Roig
Gonzalo Roig, Cuban musician and composer, was born in Havana, Cuba on July 20, 1890 and died in the same city on June 13, 1970. Starting from 1902 he began studies in piano, music theory and solfège in Havana and later became senior in music studies at the Conservatory there.
In 1907 he played part, as a pianist, in an ensemble (trio), and thus started his very active career in music, composed his first musical piece Voice of misfortune for piano and solo voice. Two years later he began playing violin at the Marti Theater in Havana. In 1917 he traveled to Mexico, and worked there briefly, and returning to Cuba in the same year. In 1922 he was co-founder of the Symphony Orchestra in Havana, of which he become music director, and is considered as the pioneer of symphonic movement is Cuba.
In 1927 he was appointed director of the Municipal Music Band of Havana, where he made countless contributions to the Cuban music, the position he held until his death. In 1929 he founded the Orchestra of Ignacio Cervantes which, a year later, was invited by the Pan American Union to lead a series of concerts in The United States of America. In 1931, while participating in creation of the National Theatre, he composed and premiered (next year) his zarzuela (form of Spanish operetta), Cecilia Valdés, which was considered as the most representative of the Cuban lyric theatre.
In 1938 he founded the National Opera in Havana, which he directed for few years. He traveled frequently and gave performances in many parts of the world. He founded the Society of Cuban Authors, National Federation of Authors of Cuba, the National Union of Authors of Cuba and the National Society of Authors of Cuba.
Besides his Cecilia Valdés he was the composer of many popular songs, "Yours" (Quiereme mucho) among others.
César Portillo de la Luz
Composer, guitar player and singer.
César Portillo de la Luz was born on October 31, 1922 in Los Quemados neighborhood, Marianao municipality, City of Havana.
During an interview for the Cuban magazine "Tropicana Internacional", Master Portillo, referring to his first musical experience, stated: "When I was very young I used to listen to my parents singing as a duet. They were very humble people and sang very well in tune the classics of the Cuban traditional trova. I believe that, from the genetic point of view, I inherited that same musicality. When I was three years old I already sang in tune and with a tempo that caused everyone"s admiration..."
In the mid-1940`s he began working with more stability and joined a trio as singer. Just during that period, Portillo de la Luz, together with artists of the stature of José Antonio Méndez, Ñico Rojas, Aida Diestro and Rosendo Ruiz, Jr., among others, initiated a new genre, within the context of the Cuban trova song, by introducing new expressive elements and establishing a dialogue with the audience from the bolero structure. This was the birth of the "feeling", a genre in which the melody abandons the tonal stillness and harmonically expands the bond of both tonal and extra-tonal tunes to include the influence of the American music. César himself has expressed: "The music known as "feeling" represented the most advanced music of the time. We were a generation marked by impressionism, jazz and romanticism. All these sources nurtured our artistic and musical thinking. Then, we created a new stylistic trend in the Cuban song".
Portillo`s work is impressive and, in order to support such statement, suffice it to remember some of his songs, namely, "Contigo en la distancia" and "Tú mi delirio" with more than one hundred versions made throughout the world. Other songs like, for example, "Noche Cubana", "Son al son", "Canción para un festival" and "Interludio" constitute a real treasure of Cuban music and have been widely disseminated at international level.
His songs had been sung by Nat King Cole, Lucho Gatica, Pedro Vargas, Caetano Veloso, Luis Miguel, Plácido Domingo, Cristina Aguilera, María Bethania and the London Symphonic Orchestra, just to mention a few.
Mario de Jesús Báez (1924 - )
Compositor originario de la Republica Dominicana. Sus composiciones, más de 250, incluyen los exitos Adelante, Que se mueran de envidia, Perdámonos y Ayúdame Dios mío, hechos famosos por artistas de la talla de Javier Solís y Marco Antonio Muñiz.
Frank Domínguez
Frank Domínguez (born Francisco Manuel Ramón Dionisio Domínguez y Radeón on 9 October 1927 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a famous Cuban composer and a pianist from Cuba, of the filin movement. Born in Matanzas, he began to play piano at 8. His most famous song, ""Tú me acostumbraste"" was written in 1957 and has been recorded by many singers among them, Olga Guillot, Chavela Vargas, Pedro Vargas, Caetano Veloso, Domenico Modugno, Tom Jones, Lola Flores, Sara Montiel and the Gipsy Kings.
