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Miguel Matamoros
Life in Santiago de Cuba was difficult for Miguel Matamoros when he was growing up. He was born May 8, 1894, to an impoverished mother. His father abandoned the family and eventually died. The education system didn’t work in the occupied country, and Miguel had to go to work as a child to help support his six brothers and one sister, selling cans of water in the street with his siblings. He did attend a school, Delvio Blanco, where he made friends with a student named Juan Corona. They frequently skipped classes to hang out in the city of Santiago, and earned some money by making bongos and maracas, which they sold to local musicians.
Through all this adversity, Matamoros fell in love with music when he was seven. He learned to play the guitar and harmonica, and as a teenager joined in with local troubadours when they serenaded the women of his hometown.
Matamoros tried his hand at different jobs, working as a miner, a farmer, a driver, a mechanic, and a telephone repairman. He delved into music by forming a duo with Tito Martinelli. He performed for the first time in Havana in 1922. Two years later, he was directing the Trio Oriental. By 1925 he had formed the Trio Matamoros with percussionist Siro Rodriguez and guitarist Rafael Cueto. Matamoros played a soulfully sweet guitar and was lead vocalist.
The popularity and fame of Trío Matamoros spread quickly, as Matamoros’ outfit became musical ambassadors from Cuba to the world. They traveled to New York, and signed with RCA Victor, recording 10 albums in 1928. Their most popular songs included “El Que Siembra Su Maíz,” “Olvido,” “Mamá Son de la Loma,” and “Santiaguera.” The music was a fusion of two Cuban styles, boleros and sones. One of Matamoros’ best-known songs, “Lágrimas Negras” (“Black Tears”) was inspired by a visit to Santo Domingo. Near the residence where he was a guest, he heard a woman crying and wrote the song in a tango style.
Trío Matamoros continually changed in size as the years went on, and was sometimes a sextet, a septet, an orchestra, or a conjunto. In the 1940s, Matamoros had problems with his voice and hired other singers to front the band, including Beny Moré, who later gained fame singing with Pérez Prado. From 1948 to 1952 the band made a number of recordings as Conjunto Matamoros, with a strong Afro-Cuban dance beat that veered from their usual acoustic sound. A horn section was prominent, as well as a wind instrument known as coroneta china, sounding not unlike Scottish bagpipes. Trío Matamoros continued to perform until 1969, finally disbanding after 44 years.
Matamoros was 77 years old when he passed away. Once dubbed the “Soul of the Popular Guitar,” his music lives on, in Cuba, and around the world.
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