Pacho alonso biography of albert

anthropologistsongwriterrumba singer

Alberto Zayas Govín was a Cuban rumba singer and songwriter who founded one of the first recorded rumba ensembles, Grupo Afrocubano Lulú Yonkori.

Background

Alberto Zayas Govín was born in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood of Matanzas on February 14, 1908.

Career

He is considered one of the most important guaguancó vocalists/composers in the history of rumba. When he was one year old his family moved to Havana. At age 14 he lived in El Cerro district of Havana and sang in coros de clave, the precursor ensembles of the guaguancó.

There he earned the nickname "El Melodioso" (The Melodious One).

In 1925 he moved to Guanabacoa, another district of Havana. According to several accounts, Zayas played with several son ensembles such as Sexteto Habanero and Sexteto Boloña, before focusing on rumba and other Afro-Cuban genres.

Zayas became a collaborator of eth