Julio Valdés-Brito Ibáñez

His best conceived work is the guajira El amor de mi bohío, created in 1937, and which achieved great national and international popularity.

He was born in La Habana. From a very young age he was passionate about music, his first teacher in this specialty was Pedro Sanjuán (1887-1976), who provided him with magnificent preparation that gave him comprehensive musical instruction.

Brito at only sixteen years of age joined as a saxophonist the already famous orchestra of "Don Azpíazu" (Justo Azpíazu), highly sought after in our country, nevertheless he learned to play guitar, drums, vibraphone, singing, complementary piano and orchestral direction, in which he remained for most of his musical life.

But Valdés-Brito was not satisfied with what he had learned and his musical muse flourished with unusual vigor to create works that transcend time such as "Florecita" first, "Tus lágrimas", with the most popular at that time being "Ilusión China".

In 1931, Brito continued creating and composed the boleros "Trigueñita" and "Acurrucadita", sung by tenor René Cabel. Later he was inspired by the bolero "Flor de ausencia" popularized by the famous Cuban interpreter Panchito Riset and also recorded it on disc in the 1990s, Pablo Milanes along with Adriano Rodríguez, in the CD, "Años I".

Other inspirations of the aforementioned creator were "Oye mi guitarra" and "Mira que eres linda". This very lyrical bolero was recorded in Mexico City by Benny Moré and Lalo Montané at RCA Víctor records in 1948, and later by Antonio Machín in Spain. In Cuba it was sung by most interpreters.

Other melodies by Brito were: "Serenata guajira" and "Si yo pudiera hablarte". But the best conceived work by Julio Valdés-Brito Ibáñez was "El amor de mi bohío", created in 1937. Its lyrics say:

Silver valley of the moon
Path of my loves

I want to offer the flowers
The song of my mountain

My living is, a lovely peasant girl
The prettiest little thing, brunette

It is all love, she who reigns in my bohío
Where the quietness of the river, dreams

And when dawn breaks with its lovely colors
It tints, with charm my nest of loves

Upon waking my lovely peasant girl
I leave a kiss on her little mouth, that I adore

The sun once again, reminds me that the day
In its full vigor, calls

Then you see, in the distance the bohío
A little white hand, that says goodbye to me.

This creation gives the impression that it was written by a composer born in La Cordillera de los Órganos or in La Sierra Cristal and not by a Havanan, as this author was.

This guajira was recorded in Mexico by the trio "Los Hermanos Nodarse" "Leo Marini", with La Sonora Matancera in 1972, the "Dúo Primavera" composed of María Siervides and Georgina Du´Bouchet in Cuba and also in Mexico it was recorded by the famous tenor Don Pedro Vargas and in Cuba by instrumental style, the combo of Senén Suárez and Barbarito Diez with the orchestra of Antonio M. Romeu both on Panart records.

The inspired musician scored several films of which we remember: "Tan tan" and "Embrujo antillano", he was also one of the first music directors of Radio in Cuba, which began in 1922.

While performing in Spain the Siboney orchestra under the direction of maestro Alfredo Valdés-Brito, brother of Julio, where the latter performed as a drummer and singer, he recorded with the Spanish record label REGAL several records singing Julio, among which we can cite:

- "Lamento borincano", by author Rafael Hernández.
- "La cachimba de San Juan" original by Ignacio Piñeiro.
- "África" by Julio V-Brito.
- "Rinconcito criollo" by Julio V-Brito.
- "Serenata criolla", by Julio V-Brito.

Julio had two sons and one daughter, he named the boys Alfredo and Julio and both, already married, formed a quartet that they called "Los Britos", which was quite well known in our country and which in a program called "Álbum de Cuba", all the music was dedicated to their father.

As a composer Julio Valdés-Brito, while in Spain performing alongside his brother Alfredo who directed the Siboney orchestra, registered with La Sociedad de Autores de España as a member and in Cuba in the 1940s he was appointed President of the Sociedad de Autores de Cuba.

Two great moments in the musical life of Julio Valdés-Brito came when he scored and sang in the film "Tan tan", he also did the same work in the film "Embrujo antillano", alongside his brother Alfredo who shared with him countless times their lives as exemplary musicians.

A very important one was directing between the two of them the Siboney orchestra in 1941 at the Tropicana cabaret, which later became the most luxurious and important in the World.

The elegant and meticulous musician Julio Valdés-Brito Ibáñez, passed away on July 30 in the city that saw his birth at 60 years of age, leaving us a very valuable musical legacy for the new generations interested in this musical discipline.