Manuel "Puntillita" Licea

Infobox Person
name = Mañuel Licea Lamot


image_size =
caption = The Ancient Greek philosopher
birth_date = birth date|1927|1|4
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death_date = death date and age|2000|12|4|1927|1|4
death_place = Havana
occupation = Musician
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Manuel "Puntillita" Licea (born Manuel Licea-Lamot in Yareyal, Holguín, Cuba on December 4, 1927 - December 4, 2000 in Havana, Cuba) was a Cuban singer active in the 1940s and 50s, who gained international attention when he joined other elderly Cuban musicians and American guitarist Ry Cooder to form the Buena Vista Social Club.

Biography

Manuel Licea began singing at the age of seven, and by 1945 he was singing in trumpeter Julio Cueva's Orchestra. He gained the nickname "Puntillita", from the song "Son De La Puntillita", that he sang with the band. He went on to achieve huge popularity in the 1950’s singing with Celia Cruz and Beny Moré.

In the 1990s, Juan de Marcos González approached "Puntillita" to join his project the Afro-Cuban All Stars which featured many musicians from Havana's prerevolutionary era. "Puntillita" was also later asked by Gonzalez to appear on his collaboration with Ry Cooder, the Buena Vista Social Club. "Puntillita" sang with Ibrahim Ferrer and guitarist Eliades Ochoa on "Cuarta De Tula" and sang lead on La Bayamesa, the Cuban national anthem.

Ferrer, Ochoa and other musicians went on to record further material after the Buena Vista Social Club and have greater success. However, "Puntillita" died only three years after the release of the record.

References

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/0,11983,712699,00.html Manuel 'Puntillita' Licea Lamot obituary]
* [http://www.pbs.org/buenavista/musicians/bios.html Buena Vista Social Club biographies]

ee also

*Ibrahim Ferrer
*Rubén González
*Compay Segundo

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