![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Antonio_Arca%25C3%25B1o%252C_1970.jpg/640px-Antonio_Arca%25C3%25B1o%252C_1970.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Antonio Arcaño
Cuban flautist and bandleader (1911–1994) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Antonio Arcaño Betancourt (Atarés, Havana 29 December 1911 – 1994) was a Cuban flautist, bandleader and founder of Arcaño y sus Maravillas, one of Cuba's most successful charangas. He retired from playing in 1945, but continued as director of the group until its dissolution in 1958.[1][2] Despite his early retirement due to health problems, he is considered one of the most influential flautists in Cuba.[3]
Antonio Arcaño | |
---|---|
![]() Antonio Arcaño in 1970. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Antonio Arcaño Betancourt |
Born | (1911-12-29)29 December 1911 Havana, Cuba |
Died | 1994 (aged 82–83) |
Genres | Danzón |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instrument(s) | Flute |
After leaving La Maravilla del Siglo, a very popular charanga, Arcaño founded La Maravilla de Arcaño, later known as Arcaño y sus Maravillas. The band featured the López brothers, Israel López "Cachao" and Orestes López, composers and multi-instrumentalists that originated the danzón-mambo, the direct precursor of the mambo, through compositions such as "Rareza de Melitón", "Se va el matancero" and, above all, "Mambo", the piece that lent its name to the genre.[4][5] Arcaño was posthumously inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2000.[6]