- Eusebio Delfin
Eusebio Delfin (Palmira, 1 April 1893 – Havana, 28 April 1965) was a Cuban trovador musician. He came from a middle-class family, and was trained as an
accountant inCienfuegos , where his family had moved. He also studied guitar and song, and sang in public for the first time in 1916 at the Terry Theatre in Cienfuegos. [Orovio, Helio 2004. "Cuban music from A to Z". Revised by Sue Steward. ISBN 0822331861 A biographical dictionary of Cuban music, artists, composers, groups and terms. Duke University, Durham NC; Tumi, Bath. p66]Delfín became Director of the Banco Comercial, and married a daughter of Emilio Bacardí, the rum magnate, author and an ex-mayor of
Santiago de Cuba .Musical career
Beginning in 1921, he recorded many Cuban songs, both solo and in duets with partners such as
Rita Montaner . He donated much of his royalties to charity in Cienfuegos.According to
Guyún , Delfin was responsible for changing the style used to accompany boleros. In the 1920s,bolero s were often accompanied by guitar in "rayado" or "rasgueado" manner (~strumming); Delfin changed that to a semi-arpeggio style (~picking). He also repeated the rhythm by time and a half, leaving the weak part of the second beat silent. His style became widely popular. His compositions include poetry put to music, such as "La guinda", from a poem by Pedro Mata, and he also wrote his own lyrics, such as "Y tú qué has hecho?" (aka "En el trunco de un árbol".), "Ansia" and "Qué boca la tuya" [Canizares, Dulcila 1995. "La trova tradicional". 2nd ed, La Habana. p89]At the soirées of the rich he sang boleros, with the result that the wealthy young became enthusistic about the guitar. [Sublette, Ned 2004. "Cuba and its music: from the first drums to the mambo". p306 Chicago.]
References
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