Antonio Arcaño | |
---|---|
Birth name | Antonio Arcaño Betancourt |
Born |
Havana, Cuba |
29 December 1911
Died | 1994 (aged 82–83) |
Genres | Danzón |
Occupation(s) | Musician, bandleader |
Instruments | Flute |
Associated acts | Armando Valdespí, Orquesta Gris, La Maravilla del Siglo, Arcaño y sus Maravillas |
Antonio Arcaño Betancourt (Atarés, Havana 29 December 1911 – 1994) was a Cuban flautist, bandleader and founder of Arcaño y sus Maravillas, one of Cuba's most successful charangas.
After leaving La Maravilla del Siglo, a very popular charanga, Arcaño founded La Maravilla de Arcaño, later known as Arcaño y sus Maravillas. The band featured the López brothers, Israel López "Cachao" and Orestes López, composers and multi-instrumentalists that originated the danzón-mambo, the direct precursor of the mambo, through compositions such as "Rareza de Melitón", "Se va el matancero" and, above all, "Mambo", the piece that lent its name to the genre. Arcaño was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2000.