Biography
Julio Cueva earned frequent comparisons to the Philadelphia-born trumpet player Ziggy Elman (1914-1968) through his own pivotal contributions to the growth of Afro-Cuban music. Heading a widely popular ensemble, he helped launch several rising Afro-Cuban figures in the 1940s, among them vocalist Orlando "Cascarita" Guerra and pianist/arranger Rene Hernandez.
Born in Trinidad in April 1897, Cueva first performed on cornet before turning ten. By his late teens he had already appeared as a featured soloist with the Municipal Band of Santa Clara and traveled with the Arquimedes Pous Theater Company.
He organized his own group, the Municipal Band of Trinidad, in 1923 and directed it until he relocated to Havana, Cuba, in 1929. After the move he continued working as a trumpeter, joining orchestras fronted by the Palau Brothers, Moises Simons, and Don Aspiazu. In the early 1930s he also recorded with Como Oscar Calle Et Sus Orchestre Cubain.
Cueva kept following opportunities that matched his adventurous spirit. A brief stay in the United States led him onward to Europe. In 1934, after leading an orchestra at a Cuban tipico night club in Paris for several months, he traveled to Madrid and conducted the Band of the Fourth Division throughout the Spanish Civil War.
When he returned to France in 1939 after the conflict, conditions had changed sharply from five years earlier. While moving through the Gallic territory he was taken into custody and held for seventy-eight days in a concentration camp.
Disillusioned by these events, Cueva went back to Cuba. Although he first rejoined the Palau Brothers, he left the post after a few months to start his own ensemble.
Born in Trinidad in April 1897, Cueva first performed on cornet before turning ten. By his late teens he had already appeared as a featured soloist with the Municipal Band of Santa Clara and traveled with the Arquimedes Pous Theater Company.
He organized his own group, the Municipal Band of Trinidad, in 1923 and directed it until he relocated to Havana, Cuba, in 1929. After the move he continued working as a trumpeter, joining orchestras fronted by the Palau Brothers, Moises Simons, and Don Aspiazu. In the early 1930s he also recorded with Como Oscar Calle Et Sus Orchestre Cubain.
Cueva kept following opportunities that matched his adventurous spirit. A brief stay in the United States led him onward to Europe. In 1934, after leading an orchestra at a Cuban tipico night club in Paris for several months, he traveled to Madrid and conducted the Band of the Fourth Division throughout the Spanish Civil War.
When he returned to France in 1939 after the conflict, conditions had changed sharply from five years earlier. While moving through the Gallic territory he was taken into custody and held for seventy-eight days in a concentration camp.
Disillusioned by these events, Cueva went back to Cuba. Although he first rejoined the Palau Brothers, he left the post after a few months to start his own ensemble.
Albums
