Joe Cuba (born "Jose Calderon" (1931) in New York City) is a Puerto Rican musician considered by many to be the "Father of Latin Boogaloo". 1931 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Boogaloo (shing-a-ling, popcorn music) is a genre of Latin music and dance that was very popular in the United States in the late 1960s. ...

Cuba's parents immigrated from Puerto Rico in the late 1920s and settled down in Spanish Harlem, a Hispanic ghetto located in Manhattan. Cuba was raised in an apartment building where his father had become the owner of a candy store located on the ground floor (street level floor). His father had organized a stickball (ghetto baseball) club called the Devils. Stickball was the main sport activity of the neighborhood. Cuba was a member of the Devils and one day while playing ball, he slid and broke his leg. He took up playing the conga, since he couldn't do much with a cast on his leg. He continued to practice with the conga between school and his free time. Eventually he graduated from high school and joined a band. Sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy Gun. ... Spanish Harlem (also known as El Barrio) is the name given to a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, United States. ... Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize native and naturalized U.S. citizens, permanent residents and temporary immigrants, whose background hail either from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or the original settlers of the traditionally Spanish-held Southwestern United... A ghetto is an area where people from a specific ethnic background or united in a given culture or religion live as a group, voluntarily or involuntarily, in milder or stricter seclusion. ... Manhattan is an island bordering the lower Hudson River. ... Candy is a term for a type of confectionery prepared by dissolving sugar in water or milk and boiling it until it starts to caramelize. ... A view of the playing field at Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri. ... Conga is a drum, a type of music, and a type of dance (Conga Line). ...

In 1950, when he was 19 years old, he played for J. Panama and also for a group called La Alfarona X. The group soon disbanded and Cuba enrolled in college to study law. While he was studying law, he attended a concert in which Tito Puente performed "Abaniquito". He went up to Tito and introduced himself as a student and fan and soon they developed what was to become a lifetime friendship. This event motivated Cuba to organize his own band. In 1954, he contracted an agent who recommended that he change the band's name from the Jose Calderon Sextet to the Joe Cuba Sextet. The Joe Cuba Sextet made their debut at the Stardust Ballroom. 1950 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Tito Puente (April 20, 1923 - May 31, 2000) was an influential Latin jazz and salsa musician. ... 1954 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1962, Cuba recorded "To Be With You" with the vocals of Cheo Feliciano and Jimmy Sabater. The band began to soar in popularity in the New York Latin community. The lyrics to Cuba's music used a mixture of Spanish and English, becoming an important part of the Nuyorican Movement. In 1967, his band which included timbales, vibraphones, and the piano among its musical instruments, scored a "hit" in the United States National Hit Parade List with the song "Bang Bang". It is considered as the song which ushered in the Latin Boogaloo era. He also had a #1 hit, that year in the Billboards with the song "Sock It To Me Baby". 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cheo Feliciano (born July 3, 1935 in Ponce, Puerto Rico), is a composer and singer of salsa and bolero music. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Nuyorican Movement is an intellectual movement involving poets, writers, musicians and artists who are Puerto Ricans or of Puerto Rican descent and who live in New York and call themselves or are known as Nuyoricans. The word Nuyorican derives from a combination of the words New York and Puerto... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Timbales (or tymbales) are shallow cylindrical single-headed drums, similar to single-headed tom-toms. ... Luigi Waites plays a vibraphone, July 29, 1999 The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the percussion family. ... This article is about the modern musical instrument. ... Roadside billboards frequently encourage passersby to visit local businesses. ...

Then came what is considered to be his "greatest" hit, "El Pito (I Never Go Back To Georgia)". It is said that during the 1960s, while Joe Cuba and his sextet where on tour, they had an engagement in Georgia. He personally suffered the racial discrimination which was rampant in the south at that time. This experience inspired him to write the song which includes his trademark whistle. Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ...

Joe Cuba and his sextet have worked over the years with many artists, including Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, James Brown and Judy Garland. Charlie Palmieri was his musical director, when in 1988 he died of a heart attack upon his arrival to New York from Puerto Rico with the intention of making a concert arrangement for the band. Joe Cuba and his sextet have sold millions of records over the years. In 2003, he recorded the following CDs: "Joe Cuba Sextet Vol I: Mardi Gras Music for Dancing", "Merengue Loco" and "Out of This World Cha Cha". Harry Belafonte in Almanac, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1954 Harry Belafonte on The Muppet Show. ... Pearl Bailey in “St. ... James Brown is the name of several notable people: James Brown, soul and funk singer and bandleader, born 1933 James Brown, American TV personality, born 1955 James Brown, U.S. Senator from Louisiana (1766-1835) James Brown, British music journalist and magazine editor Jim Brown, né James Nathaniel Brown, American... Judy Garland (June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was a American film actress who is considered one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywoods Golden Era of musical film. ... Charlie Palmieri a. ... 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... CD may stand for: Canadian Forces Decoration cash dispenser (at least used in Japan) CD LPMud Driver Centrums demokraterne (Centre Democrats of Denmark) certificate of deposit České dráhy (Czech Railways) Chad (NATO country code) Chalmers Datenforung (computer club of the Chalmers University of Technology) a 1960s Panhard race car designed... Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is the day before Ash Wednesday, and is also called Shrove Tuesday, the final day of Carnival (pronounced car-nee-VAHL in English, CAR-na-val in most romance languages – and in New Orleans, in the USA, because of its french heritage). ... Merengue is a type of lively, joyful music and dance that comes from the Dominican Republic. ... For the dance, see Cha-cha-cha (dance). ...

On April 1999, Joe Cuba was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame. In 2004, he was named Grand Marshall of the Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated in Yonkers, New York. Joe Cuba recently recovered from a stroke. He currently is the director of the Museum of La Salsa, located in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York. 1999 is a common year starting on Friday of the Common Era, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

list of famous Puerto Ricans in alphabetical order by last names, where applicable. ...

External references

• Living Memories of Joe Cuba (http://www.salsapower.com/editorials/joecuba_eng.htm)

• Stickball Hall of Fame (http://www.streetplay.com/stickball/halloffame/jcuba.shtml)