Tata Güines

Federico Arístides Soto Alejo (born June 30, 1930 in Güines , † February 4, 2008 ibid), known as Tata Güines , was a Cuban percussionist, band leader, composer and arranger.

Soto played percussion instruments, especially the conga, in his childhood . He was first a double bass player in the Ases del Ritmo group , and then became a member of the Partagás , the band of his uncle Dionisio Martínez . He later founded his own orchestra, the Estrellas Nacientes, and performed with the Orquesta Swing Casino . In 1946 he worked with the ensemble of Arsenio Rodríguez .

From 1948 he lived in Havana. There he was a member of Pao Dominis La Nueva América , José Antonio Díaz ' Havana Sport , Orestes López ' Unión and Belisario López ' La Sensación . In 1952 he became a member of the group Fajardy y sus Estrellas , with which he went to New York in 1956.

There he joined the Los Jóvenes del Cayo , with whom he had appearances on the radio station La Voz del Aire , and then worked with the groups Camacho and Gloria Matancera . He accompanied the Trío Taicuba as a conga player, worked with Guillermo Portabales and Ramón Veoz and joined the group Los Dandys de Belén with Chano Pozo , belonged to the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna (with Frank Emilio Flynn , Guillermo Barreto , Gustavo Tamayo , Israel López and Orlando Hernández ) and made recordings with Arturo O'Farrill in his groups.

In 1955 he traveled to Caracas to take part in the carnival in that city. In New York he then appeared at the Palladium with Fajardo y sus Estrellas and accompanied Machito and his Afro-Cubans and Benny Moré as a conga player . He made his first appearance as a soloist in the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria. He prepared a show and stood on stage with Josephine Baker , Frank Sinatra and Maynard Ferguson and Los Chavales de España .

After the victory of the Cuban Revolution , Tata Güines returned to his homeland. At a concert with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional , he performed his work Perico no llores más under the direction of Manuel Duchesne Cuzán . His composition Ad Libitum was performed with the guitarist and composer Sergio Vitier and the dancers Alicia Alonso and Antonio Gades .

In 1979 the Cuban state label Egrem recorded with the Estrellas de Areito . In the 1990s, Tata Güines was rediscovered as an important musician. With the young Miguel Díaz , he recorded the album Pasaporte in 1995 , which Egrem won as album of the year. He then worked with other young musicians such as Orlando Valle and his band and Jesús Alemañys Cubanismo , recorded Chamalongo with Canadian saxophonist Jane Bunnett and played the title track on the album Lágrimas Negras by Bebo Valdés and Diego el Cigala , which was awarded for a Grammy was nominated. In the last years of his life he was awarded several prizes: the Medalla Alejo Carpentier (2002), the Orden Félix Varela (2004) and the Premio Nacional de Música (2006).

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personal data
SURNAME	Tata Güines
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Soto Alejo, Federico Arístides (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Cuban percussionist, band leader, composer and arranger
DATE OF BIRTH	June 30, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH	Güines
DATE OF DEATH	February 4, 2008
Place of death	Güines