Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutierrez known worldwide as Benny Moré was born on August 24th, 1919 in Santa Isabel de las Laja, Cienfuegos. Benny is one of the most significant Cuban musicians to record their broad interpretation and innate capacity for musical composition place it inside the gods of Cuban culture.
According to his mother Virginia, since childhood he showed a great vocation for music, singing songs or improvising and directing ensembles of machetes, bongos made with milk cans, guitars and a table made of nails cord sewing thread, two sticks by way of key , etcetera. With them was accompanied sones, boleros and country tunes created by him, and at ten years old "verging" a three "real" that he had borrowed, with which escaped of his mother to parties close home.
The year 1935 was happy for Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré because he managed to join the band through the septet for the first time, the people can appreciate his voice, where he performed as a singer. He did not know music, but innate conditions as a genius. With almost twenty years old, in 1940 Bartolomé said goodbye to his mother at the Ritz Hotel of Central Vertientes, where she worked and traveled hiding, either, on a train and a truck, to Havana City.
At that time, the CMQ station began to radiate The Supreme Art Court. Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré was submitted to that program that encouraged Germán Pinelli and Jose Antonio Alonso. After submission and the start time of presentation, we rang the bell. Bartolomé later returned to Monte and Prado to the Supreme Court and this second time won the first prize.
This fact, at that time without much significance to Bartolo, later has a positive effect on the evolution of his artistic career when Miguel Matamoros, guitarist, composer and singer, returned from a trip in 1945, and immediately had to meet a whole earlier commitment to the aforementioned radial plant, but was dysphonic and had to rest voice. The solution was to ask one of his singers Borgellá, to work with him during the days of the contract and, of course, ample skills, and the excellent references Siro Rodriguez made so the choosen out was Benny.
But how beautiful and tasty the Mexican dance mambo ...
The entrance to the set of Miguel Matamoros was his real debut as a professional singer, because with that group first had a steady job as a musician and made his first recordings on 78 rpm, including Penicillin by Alberto Valdes; Bad neighbors and offering Creole, Miguel Matamoros, and Mexicanita by Nene Enrizo.Thereafter, the singing career of Bartolo may be cataloged as dizzying. Not only had a lasting work, but also the same year 1945 his first trip to Mexico, which would enshrine as a popular singer.
In its early days in Mexico City was presented with Matamoros Group in dance halls, cabarets, theaters, and several programs of XEW radio station, the famous "Cathedral Radio in Mexico." He performed well at Montparnasse and Rio Rosa nightclubs, alternating with the famous set of Veracruz are led by Raul de la Rosa. Bartolomé was consecrated there forever and his first records in 1944: "Good brothers," "The casserole", "The queen of my hut," "I took it," among others, did the first voice.
When the contract ended, Matamoros Gruop returned to Havana, but Bartolomé, who decides to try his luck in Mexico. In communicating his decision to the famous author of "Who sows his corn", Miguel Matamoros would reply: "That's fine, but you have to change the name of Bartolo, is very ugly. With it you will not go anywhere. You are right replied Bartolo, from today I'll call Benny, yes, Benny Moré. "In Mexico in 1946, Benny married to Juana Bocanegra Durán, the weeding godfather was the famous Mexican singer Miguel Aceves Mejias. Juana, a Mexican citizen and a professional nurse, worked with the famous Mexican singer Ortiz Tirado.
Every day was consolidated by the name of Benny Moré. Everywhere were heard and hummed The cocaleca by Victor Caballé, and Seems it will rain (Merengue) by Antonio Mata. Made a duo with Lalo Montane and the result was great, was the best West Indian music duo, were called " The Ghost Duet" and for commercial reasons "The West Indian duo". Benny Moré recorded for RCA Victor with the orchestras of Merceron, Arturo Nuñez and Rafael de Paz. With Lalo, grababaron with the orchestra of Arturo Nuñez, the performance with the orchestra was invariably contracting. The entry of Benny Moré in 1948 as the first singer who was later the famous big band Damaso Pérez Prado, with whom he recorded over 60 albums
Including:Bonito y Sabroso, Mucho Corazón, Pachito e'che, Ensalada de mambo, etc.., was of utmost importance for his dizzying career, served as a bridge to his definitive consolidation as legendary singer. Popular themes created by Francisco Guayabal Pio Leyva and Mulatto, which were hits in his voice.
Two geniuses of Cuban music
This meeting brought together two geniuses: Benny Moré were in the talent and natural intuition, in Pérez Prado, besides all that, the mastery of technique and a great facility for making music. With Pérez Prado won the noble Aztec people in toured for the country. Due to the success of Benny, the people gave him the title of "Prince of Mambo" Perez Prado and the "King of Mambo"
One of the first presentations made Benny Moré live with the famous orchestra of Perez Prado was in 1949 at the Blanquita Theater in Mexico City, at which centralized the show "Al son del mambo", supported by the presence of a particularly enthusiastic audience.
Santa Isabel de las Lajas querida ...
Despite all his fame, Benny did not forget his hometown Santa Isabel de las Lajas, demonstrated when he throws one of his musical compositions which expresses pride in being from Lajas.
It was so admired by the people that when Benny sang in the Galician Center of the capital, overflowed the sidewalks and grounds of the Capitol to listen. Because of his musical sensitivity Benny in his songs could cover all the nuances, the pathetic, sarcastic, witty, languid, loving, satirical, frank, ironic, arrogant, lulling, bursting and idyllic. In fact, his great qualities, his desire to give the people the best of his art and himself, he developed in full singer, who played with absolute perfection harmonic combinations and musical forms.
During 1962, the 8000 box office opens Varadero, major work that makes available all the people the wonderful Playa Azul and Benny takes responsibility for the festivities enliven its opening, still delight audiences of cabarets and fulfilling contracts and dance recordings. Last days of his life.
His last performance with the orchestra itself was in the town of Palmira, Las Villas, on February 16, 1963. His first vomited blood has it in Columbus, and in Havana went directly to The Summit at the request of Benny to see their children (foreseeing death) had only a few weeks of life, but his fighting spirit kept him standing. Very serious, on Monday morning 18 to get bad again, so the doctor decides admitted to the Hospital Emergency room provisionalmente.Fue transferred to H, bed 22 where not recovered. Until he was unconscious on Tuesday 19 at 9.15 he died at the early age of forty-three years.
Upon artist request, his remains were buried in his hometown of Santa Isabel de las Lajas. During the entire route of the caravan on the Central Highway, the towns and cities virtually paralyzed its work to give a final goodbye to their idol. Once in town, in the neighborhood of La Guinea, the Congos Society given a spiritual farewell. On February 20th at 4.00 pm was buried in the cemetery of this town.
Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré, Benny, was a bohemian, nomadic, sincere, overflowing, womanizing, macho, sexy, tender, violent, wasteful, but above all an authentic Cuban. He was a perfect man, was a god of Cuban music and that the gods love die young.