Pedro Knight Caraballo

He was born in Matanzas, joined the renowned Cuban group Sonora Matancera as second trumpeter on January 6, 1944, and together with trumpeter Calixto Leicea, who has since passed away, they thrilled many generations and gave the group its original and unmistakable trumpet sound.

It was not until August 3, 1950, when he met Celia Cruz at rehearsals at Radio Progreso, who was joining as an invited female voice for the radio station's group. Puerto Rican Daniel Santos was also invited and they shared the stage with Bienvenido Granda, the house singer of Sonora.

The couple, over time, developed a solid friendship, began a relationship that lasted until Celia's death on July 16, 2003.

On July 15, 1960, the members of Sonora Matancera moved to Mexico where they were hired for various performances, from there they relocated to Florida.
In 1961, they began singing at the prestigious ballroom Palladium in New York City.

On July 14, 1962 in Connecticut, Pedro and Celia were married, a union that would last until the moment of her death on July 16, 2003, due to brain cancer.

The contracts and tours throughout the United States continued, but he always allowed his wife to take complete control of her professional artistic life, she made individual contracts, although he continued traveling as one of her musicians.

When the time came to make an irreversible decision, he spoke with Rogelio Martínez and told him:
Rogelio, I have a problem. Either I let Celia travel alone everywhere and I stay with Sonora. Or I leave Sonora and go with Celia. But the problem is that I married Celia... Rogelio... not Sonora Matancera. So I have to go with her. And if I have to choose between Celia and the trumpet, I choose Celia".

Nevertheless, Rogelio gave him his blessing and told him that if he decided to return, his position would always be available. Later, he began to become her manager and exclusive representative, leaving Sonora Matancera and his inseparable trumpet on April 30, 1966. Pedro took measures to help his wife's career, who also became famous and highly respected throughout Latin America.

He would be interviewed on multiple occasions on television programs and made many friendships in the entertainment world, including Maria Celeste Arrayás, who expressed her respect for him almost three months after Celia Cruz's death, saying on television "remember (that) all (of us) like you".

Celia Cruz's death devastated Knight. Celia Cruz called him "Cabecita de Algodón", "Perucho". He was by her side while she suffered from cancer, and on more than one occasion expressed his hope that she would recover.

A fact that is not well known to the public is that Pedro Knight fought cancer; just one day after his wife underwent surgery to remove a cancerous breast tumor, he underwent the same surgery, as he had a cancerous tumor.

Although he was able to attend several activities dedicated to his late wife (such as a signing of Celia Cruz's autobiography), his health was seriously affected by her death, and, on July 7, 2004, he fainted during a cancer fundraising event in Miami, requiring hospitalization. Doctors there diagnosed him with low blood pressure, caused by his diabetes and emotional breakdown during the ceremony.

Knight participated in several posthumous projects dedicated to his wife, including books, compact discs, and a biographical film. Some of Cruz's relatives accused him of using the fortune she left for his own benefit (February 2007).

After the death of his beloved Celia on July 16, 2003, Pedro was never the same. Affected by her death, his health was impacted on several occasions, so his hospital visits began to be frequent.

Added to his health problems, Pedro also faced other kinds of obstacles, such as when his daughter Ernestina Knight filed a lawsuit against him demanding money, as did Gladis Bécquer, Celia Cruz's sister.

In September 2005, Celia's widower was admitted to the hospital due to a stroke, and remained there for a month in recovery.

Subsequently, on February 16, he was hospitalized again, this time due to a mild heart attack, which however kept him in delicate condition during the following weeks.

"He is practically fighting for his life," declared his adoptive son Luis Falcón. Finally, he lost that fight and ceased to exist at the age of 85, after several months of illness.

On September 26, 2005, Knight had to be hospitalized again, this time due to a cerebral hemorrhage. On February 16, 2006, he was hospitalized again, after suffering pain in his left arm, being admitted to the intensive care unit, apparently due to a myocardial condition (heart attack).

After fighting against illnesses, he died on February 3, 2007 at the age of 85 in Los Angeles, California. On February 3, 2007, Knight passed away in a hospital in Los Angeles at age 85. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx area in New York, alongside his wife.

Knight is survived by a daughter from his first marriage, Ernestina Knight who lives in Tampa; and four more children who live in Cuba: Pedro, Roberto, Emilia, and Gladys.