Mario Enrique Rivera Godines

Mario Enrique Rivera Godines, known in the musical sphere as Mayito, is currently one of the five most famous singers on the Caribbean scene. For many years he was the voice of the legendary group Los Van Van, the machinery of Cuba. Regarding his entry into this group, he said in an interview:

"Although I liked it, I never thought about being a singer… neither of Van Van nor of any other orchestra. I was the bassist of the Moncada group. On a tour through Italy in 1992 we coincided at a benefit concert for Cuba, against the Torricelli Law that they wanted to impose on us at that moment.

As a way of improvising, the Moncada integrated themselves with Van Van. The instruments were exchanged; a piece of the number was improvised, as a duet Moncada-Van Van… But, imagine, what was I going to do there when Juan Formell started to improvise… I couldn't tell him: Master give me a chance on the bass… So I started to sing. I had always liked singing salsa… I am a rumbero, from the heart and from school; so I took advantage; I stood up for Moncada and at the same time, I gave myself the pleasure of singing... On the way back to Cuba -on the plane-, he mentioned to me that he liked it, gave me his phone number and said that he wanted to do some work, an "idea" there, he thought it could interest me.

After two months, they knocked on the door of my house. When I opened it, it was Formell. He came to get me; he told me: "look, I want you to join Van Van as a singer; but you have to decide quickly because on Sunday we're leaving for Cancún...leaving Moncada, being a bassist no more and dedicating myself to singing, it was difficult"...

Mayito from an early age began to study percussion in his hometown, later, he moved to La Habana and studied percussion for fourteen years, first at the National School of Art and then at the Superior Institute of Art.

Mayito has an exceptional voice, probably the second best voice after Benny Moré and a gift for improvisation. He knows how to play several musical instruments, namely, bass, guitar, piano, trumpet, and of course percussion.

He is an arranger and composer. He played bass with the Moncada group until Juan Formell invited him to participate in the Los Van Van orchestra, with whom he was for ten years. Along with Los Van Van, he has become popular in countless countries.

He has visited diverse countries in America and Europe such as the United States, Canada, Japan, China, the former Soviet Union and in almost all European countries he has become one of the most well-known Cuban artists in the world.

Mayito has shared the stage with other renowned groups and singers such as Pío Leyva, Osdalgia, Tirso Duarte, Alexander Abreu and Havana D'Primera, Waldo Mendoza, El Zorro, Haila Mompié, José Luis Barba, Telmary, Dos Four, and many more.

In the film Hijos de Cuba (Buena Vista Next Generation), produced by renowned German filmmaker Wim Wenders, he plays one of the leading roles.

Throughout his musical career he has been awarded for his extraordinary voice with numerous international awards, among which stand out, above all, the Grammy he received with Los Van Van, as well as the Grammy nomination in the Best Salsa Album of the Year category for his album Negrito Bailador, a production of Timba Records in 2006, in which he performs as a soloist.

Among his best-known songs are "Normal, natural", "Voy a publicar tu foto", "Un socio", "De La Habana a Matanzas", "El tren se va", "Llévala a tu vacilón" and "Soy todo".

Since the beginning of 2012 he is a permanent member of Soneros de Verdad, whose director and founder is Luis Frank Arias. He also has his own group with which he has made several recordings.

Mayito Rivera is, probably, the most sought-after guest performer by other Cuban orchestras; so much so that in recent years he has sung with almost all of Cuba's star ensembles. His career has not suffered any interruptions since he left Los Van Van in 2011: Currently, Mayito Rivera travels relentlessly throughout the entire world, giving concerts in countries as diverse as the United States, Canada, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, France, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Italy.

The great popularity and the multiple talents of this 'poet of rumba' are reflected in his performances as a guest singer of the greats of salsa such as Oscar D'Leon, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Issac Delgado, Adalberto Álvarez, Mayimbe, Son Como Son, Timba Live, Pupy y Los que Son Son, Charanga Latina, Havana D´Primera, Tumbao Habana and Elio Reve Jr., to name just a few.

In 2012, Mayito Rivera established himself as a permanent member of Soneros de Verdad, the most successful orchestra of the moment dedicated to son and its related rhythms, directed by singer Luis Frank Arias. Two world tours, three months each, through Europe, Asia, Russia and the United States, with all venues sold out, testify to the high quality and great interest generated by this combination of traditional son with the vocal art of Cuba's most dynamic rumbero.

In 2014, the superstar was on tour with his own orchestra. But before, from June to September 2013, he gave a series of concerts with Soneros de Verdad performing the songs from his album Alma de Sonero, still unreleased. During this project he returned to his musical roots –son and rumba, bolero and guaguancó–, both in their traditional interpretation and in their more modern variants.

The album Alma de sonero comprises 11 tracks and was released to the market in September 2013. Among the musicians are Alexander Abreu (Havana D'Primera) on trumpet, San Miguel Pérez on the tres and Luis A. Chacón 'Aspirina' Bruzón on bongos and cajón.