|
|
|
Biography of Xavier Cugat
Name: Xavier Cugat
Birth Date: January 1, 1900
Death Date: October 27, 1990
Place of Birth: Barcelona, Spain
Nationality: Spanish
Gender: Male
Occupations: bandleader, violinist
Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat (1900-1990), a classically trained violinist who conducted with his bow, was known in his lifetime as the Rumba King. He is credited with pushing Latino music and dance into popularity in America during the first half of the 20th century.Best-known for having popularized the rumba in the United States during the 1930s, Xavier Cugat's Latin-influenced band lead the way in a new music craze among the dancing and radio-listening public. A dramatic showman who often wore huge South American hats on stage and who led his band with the wave of a violin bow, Cugat performed in the ritziest of clubs, on the radio, and in the movies. Having made his professional start as a child prodigy playing classical violin, Cugat was never apologetic about his switch to popular music. He was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying, "I play music... make an atmosphere that people …showed first 150 words…
You are viewing only a small portion of the biography.
Please login or register to access the full copy.
|
|
…showed last 150 words…the only amicable divorce. Cugat's reflections on his love life were recalled in the Los Angeles Times: "I like women--all women.... Also, there is my temperament. I am Latin. I excite. For me, this is life."Although the Latin music craze that had swelled in the 1930s and 1940s died down, Cugat remained extremely popular. His band was often booked in Las Vegas and he performed until 1969, when Cugat suffered a stroke and became partially paralyzed. The bandleader recovered from the stroke but his health was never the same. After his divorce from Charro, Cugat moved to Barcelona, where he lived for 18 years--until his death in 1990. He had been suffering from heart and lung problems and was in intensive care at the Quiron Clinic when he died. Further Reading Contemporary Authors, Gale, 1991.Newsmakers, Gale, 1991.Los Angeles Times, October 28, 1990.New York Times, October 28, 1990.All-Music Guide, www.allmusic.com (February 2003).
|
|
275 words per page