Tite Curet Alonso
Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso | |
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Background information | |
Born | Guayama, Puerto Rico | February 12, 1926
Died | August 5, 2003 Baltimore, Maryland, US | (aged 77)
Genres | Salsa |
Occupation(s) | Composer |
Catalino "Tite" Curet Alonso (February 12, 1926 – August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000 salsa songs.
Early years
Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso
Career as a song composer
After he graduated from Central High School in Santurce, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico where he studied journalism and sociology. He worked for the United States Postal Service, a job which he held for more than twenty years. All the while he continued to compose songs. In 1960, he moved to New York City and worked for the newspaper "Diario/La Prensa" as a sports columnist. In 1965, Curet Alonso met salsa singer Joe Quijano who recorded Alonso's Efectivamente which became a hit. Curet Alonso developed a unique style of his own which is known as "salsa with a conscience". He wrote songs about social and romantic themes which told about the situation of the poor Afro–Puerto Ricans and the hardships that they faced. He also focused many of his songs on what he called the beauty of the black Caribbeans.[4]
Throughout his life, Curet Alonso composed over two thousand songs. Arguably, about 200 of these were hit songs, and about 50 of these were major salsa hits. Some of the people who have interpreted his songs are: Joe Quijano,
Later years
Curet Alonso married and had a daughter and son. The marriage didn't last long and he and his wife separated. Despite the fact that the songs he wrote sold millions of records, his royalties were minimal. According to his family, Curet Alonso was tricked into signing contracts which favored the recording studios and the publishing company "ACEMLA", and not him.[2]
In spite of their great popularity in the hearts of 'salseros' around the world his music was banned from Puerto Rican radio stations for decades by the strong-arm tactics of the music publishing company ACEMLA (Asociación de Compositores y Editores de Música Latinoamericana). ACEMLA sued every venue (radio, TV, CATV, municipalities, hotels, restaurants, etc., and even the Catholic Church) in Puerto Rico and every salsa radio station in New York City for copyright infringement of every song ever written by Curet Alonso, including songs that were already licensed by other publishing companies. In 2009, US Federal Court in San Juan released 695 songs originally licensed to Fania, but the rest of the catalog is still in ACEMLA's hands, and the legal battles continue.[5][6][7]
Legacy
External audio | |
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You may listen to Tite Curet Alonso's "Mi Triste Problema" on YouTube interpreted by Jose "Cheo Feliciano | |
and to a piano interpretation by Luciano Quiñones of "Tiemblas" here |
Tite Curet Alonso died on August 5, 2003, from a
A life-sized statue honoring Curet Alonso now (literally) sits at San Juan's Plaza de Armas, in Curet Alonso's favorite bench spot.
See also
- List of Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Ricans of African descent
- French immigration to Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Rican songwriters
- List of singer-songwriters
Notes
- Spanish name, the first or paternal surnameis Curet and the second or maternal family name is Alonso.
References
- ^ "Tite Curet Alonso – Fundación Nacional para la Cultura Popular | San Juan, Puerto Rico". Archived from the original on 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ a b c Moraza, Samuel. "Bienvenido a esta página dedicada a Tite Curet Alonso". Salsa Clasica (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2006-08-20.
- ^ a b "Letralia, Tierra de Letras - La revista de los escritores hispanoamericanos en Internet". letralia.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
- ^ a b "Cancionero Parcial Tite Curet Alonso". Herencia Latina (in Spanish). 9 August 2005. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- ^ "ACEMLA: Procesos Legales". Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ "Liberadas las canciones de Tite Curet". WAPA.tv (in Spanish). Associated Press. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ Manuel Clavell Carrasquillo (23 February 2009). "Guerra judicial por las líricas de Catalino Curet". DialogoUPR (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.