Catalino Curet Alonso
| Tite Curet Alonso | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Born | February 12, 1926 |
| Origin | Guayama, Puerto Rico |
| Died | August 5, 2003 (aged 77) Baltimore, Maryland |
| Genres | Salsa |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
 You may listen to Tite Curet Alonso's "Mi Triste Problema" on YouTube interpreted by Jose "Cheo Feliciano
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and to a piano interpretation by Luciano Quiñones of "Tiemblas" here
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Tite Curet Alonso (February 12, 1926 - August 5, 2003) was a Puerto Rican composer of over 2,000 salsa songs.
Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso ) was born in Guayama, a town located in the southern region of Puerto Rico. Curet Alonso's mother was a seamstress and his father a Spanish language teacher and musician who played in the band of Simón Madera. He was two years old in 1928, when his parents divorced and together with his mother and sister moved to Barrio Obrero, located in the Santurce section of San Juan with his grandmother. His daily live experiences while living in Barrio Obrero greatly influenced his work as a composer. There he was raised by his grandmother and received his primary and secondary education. In 1941, when he was 15 years old, he wrote his first song. Among his childhood friends were Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera and Daniel Santos.
After he graduated from high school, 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.
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 intrepeted his songs are: Joe Quijano, Iris Chacón, Wilkins, Cheo Feliciano, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Willie Colón, Tito Rodríguez, Olga Guillot, Mon Rivera, Héctor Lavoe, Ray Barretto, Tony Croatto, Rubén Blades, Tito Puente, Ismael Miranda, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Marvin Santiago, Willie Rosario, Chucho Avellanet, Andy Montañez, Rafael Cortijo, Tommy Olivencia and Frankie Ruiz. His song Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra) (The Beautiful Faces (Of My Black People) recorded by Ismael Rivera, is considered by many in Puerto Rico as a classic. In addition to Salsa, Curet Alonso also composed Samba, being Airto Moreira one of the interpreters of his work in that genre. Samba de Flora, interpreted by Airto, is one of many he composed.
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