Manolo Álvarez Mera
Manolo Álvarez Mera (né Manuel Ernesto Álvarez-Mera 7 November 1923
Career
Cuba
Álvarez was born November 7, 1923, to Beniana (née Mera) and Manuel Alvarez in the
He then performed in several
New York
On September 16, 1947, he appeared as a soloist in the musical revue Violins Over Broadway at the Diamond Horseshoes Night Club in New York, produced by impresario Billy Rose.[4] The show ran for two years.
Brazil
In 1950, Álvarez moved to
Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay
In 1952, Álvarez toured Chile including visits to Buenos Aires and Montevideo. His performances were acclaimed by the Cuban magazine, Carteles .[5]
In his Uruguay radio concerts, Álvarez was hailed "Sir Hyperbole!" Many of his interpretations, including María la O; Granada by Agustín Lara; and Ay-Ay-Ay by Osmán Pérez Freire, were interrupted with applause, and he was forced to repeat them three or four times. The night of the farewell, as he went on stage, the audience — more than two thousand excited people — threw a rain of carnations and roses, forming a cloak over him. The program was interrupted for a long time by this emotional tribute.
Álvarez continued his tour to
United States
Álvarez returned to the United States in 1951. Accompanied by the Carlos Molina Orchestra (1899–1982), Álvarez sang Granada in a short 1953 film Carnival in April released in 3D by Universal. The film also featured
Hollywood
By mid-March 1953, Álvarez had been studying for six months with Arthur Rosenberg.[6] On April 18, 1954 — Easter Sunday — Álvarez sang The Lord's Prayer in a sunrise national broadcast produced by David Rose at the Hollywood Bowl with conductor Miklós Rózsa.
In 1954, he appeared as a featured singer in New York at the
Antioquia and Cuba
In August 1955, Álvarez was featured in a Tropicana production of Evocación (Evocation) and Seis Lindas Cubanas (Six Pretty Cubans) the latter referencing the six provinces of Cuba (before the Revolution). The production was staged by Rodrigo Neira, who was known as "Rodney".[a] The show was presented in a telecast from Medellín, Antioquia, and was a review of nineteenth century Cuban dance and music. Other performers included Xiomara Alfaro, Cuarteto Faxas,[b] Estelita Santaló,[c] Cuarteto d'Aida, Leonela González,[d] the dancers Ana Gloria and Rolando,[e] and the Lago Sisters Trio.[f][8][9]
The same production, with mostly the same artists, including Álvarez, was presented in a telecast April 21, 1956.
Hollywood
He sang to replace the voice of Mario Lanza in the 1958 film, Seven Hills of Rome.[g]
Final performances in Cuba
In February 1958, Álvarez headlined in the Copa Room at the Hotel Habana Riviera with Cuarteto d'Aida.[10][11] Among his last stage performances in Cuba, he was acclaimed for his appearances in the theater as Ivan Marti in La leyenda del beso (1959) and Rosillon in The Merry Widow (1960). In Cuba, he performed on television, in theaters, on several recordings, and in casinos, which included the Tropicana and Hotel Capri.[1]
In 1959, Álvarez sang on TV Adiós, Granada in Emigrantes, a
On February 2, 1960, he was acclaimed by the
United States
On August 21, 1960, Álvareze was a guest on the
Personal life
Álvarez married Delfina Cougil Fernandez (born 13 March 1925). They had two children, Teresita (Terry) (born 1959) and Manuel (born 1961). In 1963, he settled in New York, where he died on October 14, 1986.[2] He had lived at 216 West 102nd Street in Manhattan.
Selected discography
- Manolo Álvarez-Mera, tenor vocal; Orquesta Bajo, Roberto Valdés Arnau, director
- OCLC 913818568
- Side A
- "Júrame" ("Swear"), by María Grever (on YouTube)
- "Marta," by Moisés Simons (On YouTube)
- "No Niegues que me quisistes" ("Do Not Deny That You Wanted Me"), by Jorge del Moral (On YouTube)
- ")
- "No Puedo ser feliz" ("I Can Not Be Happy"), by Adolfo Guzman (On YouTube)
- Side B
- "Torna a Sorriento" ("Come Back to Sorrento") by Ernesto De Curtis
- "Mattinatta" ("Morning"), by Ruggero Leoncavallo (On YouTube) ‡
- "Core 'ngrato" ("Ingrate Heart"), by Salvatore Cardillo, Riccardo Cordiferro
- "La donna è mobile" ("Women Are Flighty"), by Verdi
- "Estrellita" ("Little Star"), by Manuel Ponce
- Manolo Álvarez-Mera; Gran Orquesta, Roberto Valdés Arnau, director
- Side A
- "María Belén Chacón" ("Romance of María Belén"), words adopted by José Sánchez Arcilla, music by Rodrigo Prats
- "Si llego a besarte" ("If I Kiss You"), by Luis Casas Romero (1882–1950) (On YouTube)
- "Quiéreme Mucho" ("Yours"), lyrics by Agustin Rodriguez, music by Gonzalo Roig (On YouTube)
- "Mirame así" ("Look At Me, Well"), by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (On YouTube)
- "Soledad" ("Loneliness"), by Rodrigo Prats
- Side B
- "Esclavo libre" ("Free Slave"), by Ernesto Lecuona
- "La Bayamesa" ("Women of Bayamo, Cuba"), by Sindo Garay On YouTube
- "Corazon" ("Heart"), by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes
- "Habanera Tú" ("You Dance" the Habanera), by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes (1st on YouTube, 2nd)
- "María la O ", lyrics by Gustavo Sánchez Galarraga (1893–1934), music by Ernesto Lecuona
- Por Los Campos De Cuba (Through the Fields of Cuba) AF Records (LP) (1996)
- "La Bayamesa" ("Women of Bayamo, Cuba"), by Sindo Garay (of 15 tracks)
- America Inmortal, Reyes (LP) (1996)
- "La Bayamesa" ("Women of Bayamo, Cuba"), by Sindo Garay (of 15 tracks)
- Funcion de Gala (Gala), J. & G. Recordings (196?)
- Live, Teatro Marti, Havana
- OCLC 469772714
- "Elena," by Roberto García Masvidal (of 12 tracks)
- "Yo Soy Tú Fracaso" ("I'm Your Failure"), by Roberto García Masvidal (of 12 tracks)
- Manolo Alvarez-Mera, RCA Victor 82-5470 (78 rpm)
- 82-5450-A: "Granada," by Agustín Lara
- 82-5450-B: "Despedida," by María Grever
- SMC Records (78 rpm)
- Manolo Alvarez-Mera; Orchestra directed by Roberto Valdés Arnau
- 2521-B "Romance Gitano," by Carlos Granados
- OCLC 79110973
- † The song "Always in My Heart" received an Oscar nomination for "Best Original Song," in the 1942 film, Always in My Heart, losing to "White Christmas" from the film White Christmas. Nonetheless, some critics regard Álvarez's recording of "Siempre en mi corazon" as the best performance of the song.
- ‡ "Mattinata" ("Morning"), written in 1904, was the first song ever written expressly for the Gramophone Company (the present day HMV).
Selected videography
- Manuel Alvarez Mera
- Manuel Alvarez Mera
References
General sources
- Article Manolo Alvarez-Mera. Available at www
.soncubano .com . Accessed: August 19, 2011 - Manolo Alvarez Mera's photo, courtesy University of Miami
Notes
- OCLC 212020815)
- ^ Carlos Faxas (1921–2014), pianist and arranger
- ^ Estelita Santaló (1931–2015) was a Cuban soprano
- ^ Leonela González (born 1930) was an actress who had a role in the 1950 Cuban film Siete muertes a plazo fijo; she had been Tropicana's top dancer for seven years; she left Cuba June 1959
- ^ Ana Gloria and Rolando (Ana Gloria Varona and Rolando García); Ana Gloria Varona was married to Luisito del Pozo, son of Justo Luis del Pozo, major of Havana from 1954 to 1958, and the last mayor before overthrow; she was also a goddaughter of Miguel Matamoros (1894–1971); Rolando immigrated to Miami and retired from dancing.
- bolerosin the 1940s and 1950s throughout Latin-America, and particularly in Cuba and Mexico; the founding sisters in 1932 were (a) Graciela Lago Muela (1918–1996), (b) Cristina Lago Muela (1919–1974), and (c) Esperanza Lago Muela (1921–1954); Esperanza married and left the group in 1947, and was replaced by Lucía Lago Muela (born 1925), another sister; Esperanza returned in 1950, making it a quartet; but Esperanza died in 1954, making it a trio again
- Ed Sullivan Show while he was shooting the film, Seven Hills of Rome. MGM, to protect their investment in Lanza, retained Álvarez as a reserve, and, according to lore, used him as a threat to strengthen Lanza's devotion to the film.
- Lanza and Álvarez both had studied with Alejandro Granda (1898–1962) at an academy he had set up in Hollywood in 1947 — Biography: "Alejandro Granda," Radio Filarmonía 102.7 FM (website) (retrieved December 17, 2015)
Inline citations
- ^ OCLC 52799802
- ^ a b "Efemérides líricas Cuba: November," from Diccionario De Artistas Liricos Cubanos, Enrique Río Prado (ed.) (born 1946) (unpublished), National Lyric Theater of Cuba website (retrieved December 11, 2015)
- ISSN 1139-0816
- ^ "Plenty Strings Attached To Billy Rose's New Idea" (review), by Bill Smith, Billboard, January 10, 1948, pg. 37
- ^ "De la Farándula" ("Show Business"), by Arturo Ramirez (born 1906), Carteles (Havana), Vol. 33, No. 19, May 11, 1952
- Boston Traveler, March 18, 1953, pg. 47
- ^ "Spanish Fantasy; Statler Hotel, Los Angeles" (review), by Bob Spielman, Billboard, July 16, 1955, pg. 11
- ^ Book: Historia Y Mitos De La Sonora Matancera Y Sus Estrellas (History And The Myths And Stars Sonora Matancera), by Diego Eduardo Montero Puentes, Bogotá: Libro Historia Y Mitos De La Sonora Matancera Y Sus Extrellas: Preámbulo (blog site; posted July 28, 2015 by Diego Montero Puentes) (retrieved December 22, 2015)
- ISSN 0864-0513
- ^ "En La Bodeguita Del Medio, Almuerzo En Honor A Manolo Álvarez Mera" (Ana Gloria on the cover), Show, "La Revista De Los Espectáculos" ("The Journal of the shows"), February 1958The magazine was founded in 1954 by Cuban attorney Carlos Palma
- ^ "Vuelve Manolo A. Mera A 'Noche Cubana' El Martes Por El Canal 4-TV," Diario de la Marina, January 31, 1960, pg. 5AArchived at the National Library José Martí, reproduced by Digital Library of the Caribbean through contributing partner, University of Florida Digital Collection (retrieved December 17, 2015)