Antonio Machin

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Antonio Machín
Born	February 11, 1903 Sagua La Grande, Cuba
Died	August 4, 1977 Madrid, Spain

Machín redirects here. For the volcano in Colombia see Cerro Machín.

Antonio Machín (born Antonio Abad Lugo-Machín on February 11, 1903 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba - August 4, 1977 in Madrid, Spain) was a Cuban singer of boleros and ballads. He is best known for singing El Manisero, Dos Gardenias, and Angelitos Negros. His version of El Manisero, recorded in 1930, was the first million record seller for a Cuban artist.

His father, Antonio Lugo, was a Spaniard from Galicia and his mother, Leoncia Machín, was a mulata (mixed black with white); he was one of sixteen children. Machín's early years were very difficult and he was forced to work at the age of eight to help pay some of his father's numerous debts. One day, he was in the street by his house singing quietly. A priest that walked by heard him and immediately encouraged him to sing at a party. He sang Ave María by Schubert. From that day on Machin was determined to become a singer. Machín's ambition was to sing opera, but this was very difficult for a poor coloured Cuban at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus, he focused on singing popular music.

At the age of twenty he had become the idol of the young women in his neighbourhood. Machín would sing them serenades under the moonlight. He worked as a mason, also travelling across Cuba as a singer. In 1926 he moved to Havana where he met a Spaniard who helped him get a contract to sing at a small cafe in Havana.

Living in Havana, Machín was exposed to many kinds of music. He joined several trios, quartets and sextets. One of the most important ones was Trío Luna, which he formed together with Enrique Peláez and Manuel Luna. In 1926 Machín formed a duo with the famous guitar player and singer Miguel Zaballa. They performed at various night clubs and on live radio shows. Their fame was such that in 1927 Don Azpiazu, leader of Orquesta Habana, added the duo to the performances held at the Casino Nacional de La Habana. At the age of 27 Machín became a vocalist at the Casino Nacional of Havana, the first singer of colour ever to do so. The Casino Nacional was the place where one could find upper class Cuban and American landowners, movie stars, millionaires and diplomats, who danced and sought romance.

In 1930 he toured the United States with the Casino Nacional orchestra, and that year, his song "El manisero" ("The Peanut Vendor", written by Moises Simons) became the first Cuban song written by Cubans to become a hit in the U.S., presaging the rumba explosion of the 1930s. Machín did not return to Cuba after this tour, settling in New York.

While in New York, Machín recorded approximately 200 songs, often with the backing ensemble of claves, tres, guitar, and trumpet. His guitarist and duetist on many of these recordings was Daniel Sánchez, and Mario Bauza (who later played with Machito) plays trumpet on some recordings. He performed with groups such as José Escarpenter y su Orquesta, Orquesta Antillana de Rafael Hernández, Julio Roque y su Orquesta, and Armando Valdespí y su Orquesta, in addition to performing under the names La Orquesta Machín and El Cuarteto Machín.

In 1935 he moved to Europe, living in London and Paris before settling in Madrid in the late 1930s, where he would remain until his death. In Paris, he formed Antonio Machín y su Orquesta, with Simons on piano, and continued to record in the city (where Cuban music had been popular since the late twenties). After moving to Madrid he married María de los Ángeles Rodríguez in 1943. As the Cuarteto Machín, he made over 60 recordings in Spain, often recording the works of composers Oswaldo Farrés and Consuelo Velázquez.

He died in Madrid in 1977 and was interred in the San Fernando Cemetery in the city of Seville.

[edit] References

Antonio Machín at Allmusic.com
AOL Music bio
Cuba Encuentro article (Spanish)
World Music Central article(Spanish)
Cuando salí de La Habana; 1898-1997: Cien años de múúsica cubana por el mundo by Cristobal Diaz Ayala, (Fundación Musicalia. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1998). (Spanish)
Música Cubana. Del Areyto a la Nueva Trova by Cristobal Diaz Ayala,.( Editorial Cubanacán. Puerto Rico, 1981) (Spanish)
Machin, Toda una vida by Eduardo Jover. (La Esfera de los Libros. Madrid, 2002). (Spanish)
Calle Antonio Machin. El Recuadro by Antonio Burgos, (El Mundo de Andalucía. 2001). (Spanish)