Artist Name: Arsenio Rodriguez
Genre:
Afro-Cuban,
Bolero,
Son
Country:
Cuba
Artist Bio:
Known as "El Ciego Maravilloso" (the Blind Marvel), Arsenio Rodriguez was one of the leading pioneers in Cuban popular music of the 1940s. A tres player in the Cuban son genre, Rodriguez remains as one of the seminal innovators of the genre as a talented musician, composer and bandleader. Before forming his famed group, Rodriguez's compositions were recorded in the late 1930s by the celebrated Cuban group Orquesta Casino de la Playa, featuring singer Miguelito Valdés (aka Mr. Babalú). In the early '40s Rodriguez formed a new type of ensemble known as the conjunto, making several additions to the staple septeto instrumentation and forever changing the musical landscape in Cuba.
The grandson of a Congolese slave, Rodriguez transformed Cuban popular music by incorporating elements of his African culture into his music, both on a musical as well as topical level. In contrast to the cabaret-oriented groups of the day, which catered primarily to white audiences through more homogenized versions of Cuban music and dance, Rodriguez's music was as African as one could get, introducing the tumbadora (conga drum) into the ensemble as well as a host of bantú words and concepts.
His conjunto featured some of the genre's most talented artists, including singer Miguelito Cuní, pianist "Lilí" Martínez (who joined the group in 1946, replacing Rubén González) and trumpeter Félix Chappotín. The more powerful sounding conjunto took dancers and dancehalls by storm, although as a black Cuban, Rodriguez never received the recognition he deserved in his own country.
In the late 1950s he arrived in New York seeking a cure for his blindness (which had occurred as the result of childhood accident), and he remained there, collaborating with many of the top artists. His prolific composing skill included numerous sones and boleros, yet he died virtually penniless in Los Angeles in 1970. Since then, many artists continue to pay tribute to the man and his music, which is still viewed as some of the most innovative of its time. —Rebeca Mauleon
