The outstanding Cuban composer and singer Adalberto Alvarez died on Tuesday night at age 72, a victim of COVID-19.
The news was confirmed on CiberCuba by sources at the “Pedro Kouri” Institute of Tropical Medicine, where the interpreter was admitted. The musician’s daughter, Dorgeris Alvarez, who had reported on her father’s health in recent days, added a mourning ribbon to her Facebook profile photo.
After the news broke, the social networks immediately began to fill with messages of condolence from Cuban musicians and groups such as Isaac Delgado, Alain Pérez and Els Van Van, among others.
Shortly afterwards, the Cuban Institute of Music issued a statement through its social networks, where it recalled the successful career of the performer, his contributions to Cuban culture and clarified that “by family decision, his body will be kept in an intimate ceremony. “
On August 20, a Facebook post by Dorgeris Alvarez he set off alarms about his state of health of the famous sonero. In the following days, relatives of Adalberto Álvarez were informed about his clinical evolution as well deny rumors of his death.
From the beginning, numerous followers, colleagues and friends of the artist, such as the Puerto Rican salsa player Gilberto Santa Rosa, Joined in prayer chains and wishes for a speedy recovery, although unfortunately this Wednesday the death of the prominent Cuban composer, arranger, singer and pianist has been confirmed.
Called “The Knight of the Son”, Adalberto Alvarez is the most versioned Cuban sonero in Latin in the last 30 years and one of the most important figures in Cuban music in recent decades.
Creator of such popular songs as “A Bayamo en cotxe”, “Dále como y ‘”, “A ballar el toca toca”, “And what do you want to be given”, “Let her go” and ” To dance casino “, his work has been performed by dozens of Cuban and foreign musicians, including Juan Luis Guerra and La 440, Oscar de León, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Celina González, Omara Portuondo and Issac Delgado, among others.
First leader of Son 14 and after Adalberto Alvarez and his are, In the extensive race of the musician they appear twenty discs between which they are: My beautiful habanera, To dance casino, The dream of Adalberto sounds Cuban, Playing with candle, Sonero I am, Crazy by the sound, the Chévere i the Knight, And what do you want them to give you, Omara with Adalberto, Adalberto’s super hits, ARE 14, among others.
the album They are for a sonero (Bis Music, 2020) -published just a year ago- became a tribute to a concert at the Karl Marx Theater on the occasion of the 46th anniversary of the Cuban musician’s artistic life and the 35th anniversary of their grouping.
That emotional concert in the Cuban capital Adalberto Alvarez he considered it an invaluable gift to enable him to confirm the recognition and esteem of his colleagues, and “to be a prophet in my land,” he then declared to national media.
Adalberto Cecilio Álvarez Zayas was born in Havana on November 22, 1948, although he always considered himself a Camagüey, where his family was from.
At just three years old he showed faculties for music and in 1957 he was part of the “Avanç Juvenil” Orchestra, conducted by his father. In the decade of the 60 he was singing in Caribbean Combo, a group of fans of Camaguey.
In 1966 he began bassoon studies at the National School of Art (ENA) and the following year began conducting the typical School Plant Orchestra for eight years.
Around this time, Joseíto González, director of the Rumbavana Orchestra, listened to one of his works and added several of his works to his repertoire, including “El son de Adalberto”, which became a great success.
In 1978, the “Són 14” orchestra was born, one of the milestones in the musical development of Adalberto Álvarez, who led the group for five years and starred in several international tours. A year later, in 1979 Adalberto recorded his first with “Són 14”, entitled “A Bayamo en Cotxe” with the EGREM record label.
By this time, pianist Frank Fernandez proposed to him to go to record in Havana and he became the producer of his first six discs.
On February of 1984 it founds “Adalberto Alvarez and his son”, grouping with which marked its seal and chair to Cuban music. In the last decades Adalberto continued realizing international and national tours, gaining the respect and the admiration of the Cuban and Latin public.
Adalberto Alvarez received a large number of awards, including the Extraordinary Award given in the latest edition of Cubadisco.
CiberCuba deeply regrets the death of Adalberto Alvarez and sends sincere condolences to the relatives and friends of the important sonero.