(BLUSHING)
Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu (1900-90) was a Spanish-American bandleader who came out of Havana. A trained violinist and arranger, he was responsible for adding a Latin tint to American popular music. He was also a gifted cartoonist. In New York, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf-Astoria both before and after the war.
His family emigrated to Cuba from Spain when Xavier was five. He was trained as a classical violinist and played with the Orchestra of the National Theater in Havana. Xavier and his family arrived in New York in 1915, and he appeared in recitals with Enrico Caruso, playing violin solos. He was quite the prodigy.
Entering the world of show business in Los Angeles, he played with a band called the Gigolos during the tango craze. He went to work for the Los Angeles Times as a cartoonist, and his caricatures were nationally syndicated.
In the late Twenties, as sound began to be used in films, Xavier put together another tango band that had some success in early short musical films known as “soundies”, which were the forerunner of MTV. By the early Thirties, he began appearing with his group in feature films.
This song is from Mexico.
:)
I’m ready for the next one when you are!