Arcaño y sus Maravillas

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Arcaño y sus Maravillas
The original members of Arcaño y sus Maravillas. Antonio Arcaño, sitting; Cachao, second from the left.
Background information
OriginHavana, Cuba
Genres
Years active1937–1958
Labels
RCA Victor, Panart, Corona, Verne, Kubaney, Maype, Modiner, EGREM
Past members

Arcaño y sus Maravillas was a Cuban charanga founded in 1937 by flautist Antonio Arcaño. Until its dissolution in 1958, it was one of the most popular and prolific danzón orchestras in Cuba, particularly due to the development of the danzón-mambo by its two main composers and musicians: Orestes López (piano, cello, bass) and his brother Israel López "Cachao" (bass).[1] Such upbeat version of the danzón served as a precursor of the mambo popularized by Pérez Prado, as well as the chachachá created by Enrique Jorrín, a violinist who started his career in the Maravillas. Other important musicians in the Maravillas were pianist Jesús López (unrelated to Orestes and Israel), timbalero Ulpiano Díaz, violinist Félix Reina and flautist Eulogio Ortiz.

Antonio Arcaño, former member of singer Fernando Collazo's La Maravilla del Siglo, founded his orchestra in November 1937 under the name La Maravilla de Arcaño, featuring many of the members of Collazo's group. Collazo himself complained about the similarity in the name, so by 1939 it was changed to Arcaño y sus Maravillas.[2] By then the band had become popular across the island due to hits such as "Mambo". Around 1944, they began to play at radio shows in Havana and the group doubled its roster. It became known as La Radiofónica and Arcaño as El Monarca del Danzón (The Monarch of Danzón). However, Arcaño had to stop playing in 1945 due to lip problems preventing him from maintaining his embouchure. He continued as director and hired his cousin José Antonio Díaz as flautist, who was later replaced by Eulogio Ortiz.[3] Cachao left the group by the end of the decade (being replaced by his nephew Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Orestes' son), but returned to record "Chanchullo" in 1957, one year before the Maravillas played their last show in Alquízar.[2]

Several reunions of the group occurred in the 1970s and 1980s featuring some of the original members. These were released on two LPs by Areito.[2]

History

Arcaño y sus Maravillas at Radio CMQ, c. 1945: Arcaño on flute, Orestes López on cello, Cachao on bass.

Born in 1911 in

Buenavista, Havana) "Club Social de Marianao" (in Marianao, Havana), "Redención Sport Club" (in Pogolotti, Havana), "Juventud de Pueblo Nuevo" (in Pueblo Nuevo, Havana), "Avance Juvenil" (in Ciego de Ávila), "Centro San Agustín" (in Alquízar) and "Bella Unión" (in Güines).[7]

The band's first big hit came with "

dance crazes in the 1950s. They made their first recordings in April 1940, and in 1944 the group expanded its lineup for the radio, where they had their own program on Radio Mil Diez, sponsored by Gravi toothpaste and Dermos soap.[2] This group was known as La Radiofónica. At this point, the group was competing with the most popular ensembles of the island, and together with Orquesta Melodías del 40 and Arsenio Rodríguez's conjunto it formed Los Tres Grandes (The Big Three).[2]

In 1945, circulatory problems related to his lip prevented Arcaño from maintaining his

Somewhere over the Rainbow
".

In the mid-1950s, Arcaño signed with

Oye cómo va".[9]

Discography

Most of the group's RCA Victor singles (1940–1951) have never been released on LP or CD.[2]

  • 1957: Latin Fiesta (Kubaney)
  • 1958: Danzones de ayer, de hoy y siempre (Maype)
  • 1959: Pita Arcaño, dale Dermos (Modiner)
  • 1976: Arcaño y sus Maravillas (Areito)
  • 1980: Arcaño y sus Maravillas (Areito)
  • 1996: Orquesta Arcaño y sus Maravillas (Discmedi) – archival radio recordings

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9780822385219
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal (Fall 2013). "Orquesta Maravilla de Arcaño" (PDF). Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925-1960. Florida International University Libraries. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780810884427
    .
  4. ^ Entrevista con Israel López "Cachao". 2003. In Spanish.
  5. ISBN 9788480483650
    .
  6. ^ "Cachao". Latin Style Magazine (37–42): 30. 2000.
  7. ISBN 9781569764206
    .
  8. ^ González, Eric E. (14 June 2001). "Un cubano con "filin": Frank Emilio Flynn". Herencia Latina (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  9. ^ Sublette (2004). p. 451.

External links

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