Enrique Jorrín Oleaga

Cuban musician, composer, violinist, and orchestra conductor, creator of the cha-cha-cha.

He was a member of the Arcaño Orchestra and the América Orchestra. In 1954 he founded his first orchestra, with which he performed in more than 20 countries.

In 1951 he composed the first cha-cha-cha. Among his musical works are: La engañadora, El alardoso, El túnel, Nada para ti, Osiris, and Me muero.

As Enrique Jorrín himself described it, the cha-cha-cha is an intermediate dance, neither very slow nor very fast, which allowed ordinary citizens to display, without prejudice, their normally limited dancing abilities while at the same time enjoying the music.

Around the middle of the century, Enrique Jorrín, a young man who introduced "La engañadora," the fruit of his experiments with the form, melody, and rhythm of the danzón. From then on and with the help of other compositions in the same style, the new rhythm that people called cha-cha-cha would forcefully conquer listeners and dancers.

In a very short time the entire continent was dancing, with different degrees of flavor of course, the majestic cha-cha-cha.

Manolo Maylán (a famous Cuban female impersonator) was the inspiration for the famous cha-cha-cha, "La Engañadora." Maylán was the subject in the city of Miami of a "confusion incident" by an American citizen who, captivated by his "feminine virtues," proposed marriage to him.

Upon learning the truth, the confused suitor tried to open fire on Maylán. The incident occurred in 1953 and was reported by the Havana press as "a crime of passion." "In reality it was more of a scandal that the press tried to exploit in Cuba, but many untrue things were said then, it was simply a case of a confused man," Maylán stated.

Recognized as the creator of Cha-cha-cha; he constitutes a great contribution to the musical history of Cuba, with more than forty years of life, his rhythm and sound remain full of life and energy. Master, founder, director, orchestrator, and violinist of the "Enrique Jorrín" Orchestra.

The king of cha-cha-cha. Jorrín, creator of the cha-cha-cha, a mulatto with a good-natured smile, a slow-spoken talker and always ready for conversation. His father participated in World War II as a soldier in the American Army and died in combat; he was also a tailor and clarinetist in popular orchestras, he prepared groups for different dances that hired him, both in Candelaria and in Artemisa or in the countryside, Master Jorrín recounted on a certain occasion, so we already know where his taste for music came from, to the point that, despite his family's interest in making him a doctor, there was no way to change Enrique's violin for a stethoscope.

From a very young age he devoted himself to the study of music. At 11 years old he created and performed with the group "Selección," from Old Havana, his first danzón titled Hilda; he later joined other groups where he distinguished himself: "Arcaño y sus Maravillas" and the "Ideal" Orchestra, directed by Joseito Valdés. At 12 years old he wrote the violin part for one of the most significant danzones that still forms part of the repertoire of the "Enrique Jorrín" Orchestra (Osiris) a classic of Cuban music.

In the early days—the 1940s—he worked with various groups: Hermanos Contreras, Hermanos Peñalver, La Ideal, and directed Selecciones del 45, while awaiting his big break, which came when he was called to join the América Orchestra, which premiered La engañadora. The América is a popular group with which he began to make history with the cha-cha-cha and which he directed between 1946 and 1954; in this orchestra he also worked as composer, orchestrator, and first violinist of the group. In the 1940s, he composed the danzones doña Olga, which was a success in its time; standing out: Liceo del Pilar, Central Constancia, Osiris, Unión Cienfueguera…

In 1948 Jorrín had recorded the song by Mexican composer Guty Cárdenas, Nunca, where he performed the first part in his original style, and the second in a faster tempo.

In 1953 the first recording of the new rhythm created by Jorrín came out: on one side, La engañadora, on the other, Silver Star, in which in its sung part appears: cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha, it's a rhythm without equal. Already in its release, it had all the characteristics of the cha-cha-cha. When La engañadora triumphed, there were also hits: El túnel, Nada para ti, Me muero, Cógele bien el compás, Trompetas en cha-cha-cha, El Alardoso. In this same line of Jorrín's creation, the América released El túnel, Nada para ti, Cógele bien el compás, and from Musiquita, Poco pelo, and Yo sabía.

In 1954 Jorrín founded the orchestra that bore his name and a year later departed for Mexico with that rhythm that took the continent by storm in the same way and which its creator named cha-cha-cha for the sound of the dancers' footsteps as they dragged their feet on the floor, which the musician's keen ear detected immediately.

Despite the years that have passed, the cha-cha-cha is not a forgotten genre, neither in Cuba, nor in Mexico, nor in other places. When the 25th anniversary of the appearance of the cha-cha-cha was celebrated, Master Jorrín received in Mexico a gold record attesting to the sales of his most successful numbers. Tributes were also paid to him in Cuba. His death, at age 60, deprived Cuban music of one of its most notable composers.