Antonio Machín

Antonio Machín
Born	February 11, 1903 Sagua la Grande, Cuba
Died	August 4, 1977 Madrid, Spain

Antonio Machín (Antonio Abad Lugo Machín; 11 February 1903, in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 4 August 1977, in Madrid) was a Cuban singer and musician. His version of El Manisero, recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú's orchestra, was the first million record seller for a Cuban artist. Although this was labelled a rumba, it was in reality a son pregón, namely, a song based on a street-seller's cry.

Machín was the son of a black Cuban woman, Leoncia Machín, and a white Spanish father, José Lugo Padrón, who emigrated to Cuba from Galicia. Machín, a dark mulatto, was one of sixteen children. His early years were difficult: he was forced to work at the age of eight to help pay some of his father's numerous debts. One day, he was in the street by his house singing quietly. A priest that walked by heard him and immediately encouraged him to sing at a party. He sang Ave María by Schubert. From that day on Machin was determined to become a singer. Machín's ambition was to sing opera, but this was difficult for a poor coloured Cuban at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, he focused on singing popular music. At the age of twenty he had become the idol of the young women in his neighbourhood. Machín would sing them serenades under the moonlight. He worked as a mason, also travelling across Cuba as a singer. In 1926 he moved to Havana where he met a Spaniard who helped him get a contract to sing at a small café in Havana.

In Havana, Machín was exposed to many kinds of music. He joined several trios, quartets and sextets. In 1924 Machín formed a duo with the trovador Miguel Zaballa. Later he joined the Trío Luna, with Enrique Peláez and Manuel Luna. In 1926 he was brought into Don Azpiazú's orchestra, the house band at the Havana Casino. In 1930 he went to New York with Don Azpiazú's band, where El manisero (The Peanut Vendor, written by Moises Simons) was recorded. It became the first Cuban song to become a hit in the U.S., presaging the rhumba craze of the 1930s. Machín did not return to Cuba after this tour, settling in New York City for the time.

...
Wikipedia