Pérez Prado, Dámaso

Pérez Prado, Dámaso * December 11, 1916 – † September 14, 1989Pérez Prado, DámasoDámaso Pérez Prado One of the most famous and influential orchestra leaders of the 1950s, Dámaso Pérez Prado, the »Mambo King,« was born in Matanzas, Cuba. Son of a schoolteacher and a newspaper reporter, he studied classical piano with Rafael Somavilla and María Angulo in Matanzas, and played the organ and piano in local movie houses and clubs. In 1942 he moved to Havana and played piano with the orchestra of the…