Xavier Cugat
Xavier Cugat, born Francisco de Asis Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeo on January 1, 1900, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, was a prominent bandleader and musician who played a crucial role in popularizing Latin American dance music in the United States. His family moved to Havana, Cuba, when he was three years old, where he demonstrated prodigious talent as a violinist. Cugat's early career included performing as a violinist in silent movie theaters and as the first violin for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra in Havana.
In 1915, Cugat and his family relocated to New York City. Despite initial struggles as a concert soloist, he transitioned to working as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times and later formed a successful dance band, The Gigolos, in 1928. By 1933, Cugat's band had become the resident orchestra at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, where they performed until 1949. Known as the "Rumba King," Cugat's orchestras featured violins, maracas, and bongo and conga drums, and his performances often included dancers demonstrating the rumba, tango, and other Latin-American dances.
Cugat's influence extended to radio, nightclubs, and films, with appearances in movies such as "You Were Never Lovelier" (1942) and "Two Girls and a Sailor" (1944). He was also a restaurateur and a caricature artist. Cugat's personal life included marriages to several women, including singer Abbe Lane and singer-guitarist Charo. He retired after suffering a stroke in 1971 and passed away on October 27, 1990, in Barcelona, Spain, at the age of 90.
App
