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César Portillo de la Luz (October 32, 1922 – May 4, 2013) was a Cuban musician, lyricist and composer. Born in Havana, Cuba, Portillo is credited with founding the filin music genre. The Miami Herald described Portillo as "a fundamental author of Latin American music" and "one of Cuba’s most celebrated composers". Portillo is also cited as "the most distinguished lyricist of his generation".

Early life

Born October 31, 1922 in Havana, Cuba to a cigar-roller, Portillo learnt how to play the guitar on his own. He painted houses to sustain his own income.

Career and death

Portillo had his own show titled Feeling Season. Portillo received international prominence after his 1946 romance song "Contigo en la distancia" ("With You in the Distance") was performed by Andy Russell. Portillo never let slip who was the woman that inspired him to write "Contigo en la Distancia". He is credited with founding the filin music genre, which was popular in the 1950s. Starting from the 1940s to the 1950s, Portillo actively performed at bars and clubs.

Portillo was awarded the Premio Latino a Toda Una Vida by the Spanish Academy of the Arts and Lyrics of Music at a ceremony held in Madrid in 2004. The same year, he received the Lifetime Latin Award at the Premios De La Musica in Madrid, held on April 15. He had at least more than one wife, including one named America. His songs have been performed by many well-established artists worldwide, including Nat King Cole. He died on May 4, 2013, in Havana, Cuba, of an unspecified cause.

References

1. ^ "Cuban bolero giant César Portillo de la Luz dies at 90". The Miami Herald. May 4, 2013.
2. Dimaggio, Paul; Fernández-Kelly, María Patricia (2010). Art in the Lives of Immigrant Communities in the United States. Rutgers University Press. p. 57. ISBN 9780813547572.
3. "César Portillo de la Luz, La Habana, 1922". Soy Cubana. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
4. ^ Sweeney, Philip (2001). The rough guide to Cuban music. Rough Guides. pp. 148–. ISBN 9781858287614.
5. ^ Sublette 2007, p. 528.
6. ^ Neyra, Edward J. (2010). Cuba Lost and Found. Clerisy Press. pp. 270–. ISBN 9781578603916.
7. DeRivera, Paquito. My Sax Life: A Memoir (2 ed.). Northwestern University Press. pp. 103–104. ISBN 9780810125247.
8. Cite error: The named reference Soy Cubano 1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
9. "César Portillo de la Luz". EnCaribe. Retrieved May 5, 2013.
10. "News from south of the border". Billboard. April 24, 2004. p. 32.
11. "Fallece el músico cubano César Portillo, autor de "Contigo en la distancia"". Diariovasco (in Spanish). May 4, 2013.

Bibliography

• Sublette, Ned (2007). Cuba and Its Music: From the First Drums to the Mambo. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781569764206.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

• 1922 births
• 2013 deaths
• Cuban singers
• Cuban composers
• Cuban painters
• People from Havana