Margarita Lecuona

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Margarita Lecuona (born April 18, 1910 in Havana , † 1981 in New Jersey ) was a Cuban composer , guitarist and singer.

Lecuona was the daughter of the Cuban consul in New York Eugenio Lecuona, went to school in Cuba and studied music (guitar) there, especially with Clara Romero. She published her first compositions in the 1930s. In 1942 she played with her group Lecuona Cuban Girls in Havana. In 1947 she left Cuba and lived in various countries in South America, particularly in Argentina (in Buenos Aires), the home of her husband, the actor José María Pepe Armillas. In 1955 she returned to Havana and performed a. a. on radio and television. In 1957 she went to Buenos Aires , where she formed a trio with the Cubans Michel Montes and José Casino. In 1969 she and her family moved to the USA.

She is the composer of such well-known Cuban melodies as Taboo (or Tabu, Lyrics by SKRussell, 1934, popularized by the Lecuona Cuban Boys in the 1930s), Eclipse, Babalu (1941, a big hit for Desi Arnaz in 1946 and performed in Cuba the singer Miguelito Valdés known).

She was a relative of the composer Ernesto Lecuona , who was her father's cousin and whom she used to call "uncle".

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personal data
SURNAME Lecuona, Margarita
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cuban singer and composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Havana
DATE OF DEATH 1981
Place of death New Jersey