| Tite Curet Alonso | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Born | February 26, 1926 |
| Origin | Guayama, Puerto Rico |
| Died | August 5, 2003 |
| Genres | Salsa |
| Occupations | Composer |
Tite Curet Alonso [note 1](February 26, 1926 - August 5, 2003) was a renowned composer of over 2,000 salsa songs.
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Curet Alonso (birth name: Catalino Curet Alonso) was born in the southern town of Guayama in Puerto Rico. Curet Alonso's mother was a seamtress and his father a Spanish teacher and musician in the band of Simon Madera. He was two years old in 1928 when his parents divorced and he, his mother and sister moved to Barrio Obrero, located in the Santurce section of San Juan, with his grandmother. Living in Barrio Obrero and his experiences there greatly influenced his music. He was raised by his grandmother and he received his primary and secondary education. In 1941 when he was 15 years old, he wrote his first song. Among his childhood friends were Rafael Cortijo, Ismael Rivera and Daniel Santos.[1][2]
After he graduated from high school, he enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico where he studied journalism and sociology. He worked for the United States Postal Service, a job which he held for more than twenty years. All the while he continued to compose songs. In 1960 he moved to New York City and worked for the newspaper "Diario/La Prensa" as a sports columnist. In 1965, Curet Alonso met salsa singer Joe Quijano who recorded Alonso's Efectivamente which became a hit. Curet Alonso developed a unique style of his own which is known as "salsa with a conscience". He wrote songs about social and romantic themes which told about the poor blacks and the hardships that they faced. He also focused many of his songs on what he called the beauty of the black Caribbeans.[3]
Throughout his life, Curet Alonso composed over two thousand songs. Arguably, about 200 of these were hit songs, and about 50 of these were major salsa hits. Some of the people who have intrepeted his songs are: Joe Quijano, Iris Chacón, Wilkins, Cheo Feliciano, Celia Cruz, La Lupe, Willie Colón, Tito Rodríguez, Olga Guillot, Mon Rivera, Héctor Lavoe, Ray Barretto, Tony Croatto, Rubén Blades, Tito Puente, Ismael Miranda, Roberto Roena, Bobby Valentín, Marvin Santiago, Willie Rosario, Chucho Avellanet, Andy Montañez, Rafael Cortijo, Tommy Olivencia and Frankie Ruiz. His song Las Caras Lindas (De Mi Gente Negra) (The Beautiful Faces (Of My Black People) recorded by Ismael Rivera, is considered by many as a classic.[3]
Curet Alonso married and had a daughter and son. The marriage didn't last and he and his wife separated. Despite the fact that the songs he wrote sold millions of records, his royalties were minimal. According to his family Curet Alonso was tricked into signing contracts which favored the recording studios and his publishing company, ACEMLA, and not him.[1]
| External audio | |
|---|---|
| You may listen to Tite Curet Alonso's "Mi Triste Problema" interpreted by Jose "Cheo Feliciano here | |
| and to a piano interpretation by Luciano Quiñones of "Tiemblas" here | |
Tite Curet Alonso died on August 5, 2003 from a heart attack in Baltimore, Maryland. Richie Viera, a Puerto Rican and William Nazaret, a Venezuelan, both friends of Curet Alonso, made sure that his body was transferred to Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico he was given a state funeral, first the wake was held at the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture with an honor guard, then at Puerto Rico's Capitol building in San Juan and then at San Juan City Hall. Finally he was interred in Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery in Old San Juan. Rubén Blades suspended some dates from his "farewell" tour (before becoming the Minister of Tourism for Panama) to attend Curet Alonso's funeral. Cheo Feliciano, one of his closest friends, was one of many famous pallbearers in attendance.[1][2] A posthumous collection of music composed by Tite Curet Alonso, the two-disc Alma de Poeta, was published in 2009.
A life-sized statue honoring Curet Alonso now (literally) sits at San Juan's Plaza de Armas, in Alonso's favorite bench spot.