Miguelito Valdes

Over more than five decades on stage, Miguelito Valdes's vocal innovations ranked him among Latin music's most popular artists. He began performing in 1927 alongside several amateur ensembles before concluding during the early 1930s in Panama that music would become his profession. By June 1937 he served as vocalist for Casino de la Playa Orchestra, then one of Cuba's five leading orchestras. In April 1940 he left Cuba for New York City and joined Xavier Cugat's band at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. The engagement generated sufficient acclaim for him to pursue a solo career starting in 1942. He cut sides for multiple labels, appeared in twelve movie cameos, and entered semi-retirement in 1955. Valdes resumed performing in 1963 and hosted a television program for the next ten years. In 1978 Miguelito Valdes suffered a fatal heart attack onstage in Bogota, Columbia.