Wilfredo Leyva Pascual

Wilfredo Leyva Pascual, a native of Morón known as Pío Leyva, was a Cuban singer and legend of popular music. Author of the guaracha "El mentiroso."

Author of 25 albums since signing his first contract with RCA in 1950. He performed alongside greats of Cuban music such as Benny Moré, Bebo Valdés and Noro Morales and was a member of Compay Segundo and his Muchachos. He also collaborated with other soneros of his generation and helped form the Buena Vista Social Club.

He became famous not only as a performer but as a composer. Some of his works were sung by the renowned Benny Moré and he became known by the nickname El Montunero de Cuba. His old friends and the public remember him as a singer of great fluency and improvisation, with an enviable command of verse and décima poetry.

Pío Leyva was born on May 5, 1917 in Morón (province of Ciego de Ávila), in the central region of Cuba.

Possibly since the mid-1920s, neighbors of the Camagüeyan Lombillo settlement, belonging to the old Jaronú sugar mill, could predict that a cheerful, restless and talkative mulatto boy named Wilfredo would become an artist; he was then part of an improvised children's group performing country songs.

While very young, he formed duos and trios of voices and guitars in his native town with Enrique Blazo, Miguel Ángel Piña and Ñico Morgado, with whom he performed on the CMJX radio station in Morón.

He built a career similar to that of many Cuban musicians of his generation: coming from a working-class family, he dedicated himself to music from a young age. He started as a bongosero in the Siboney orchestra of his native land and later sang in trios and other popular music groups. Also as a singer and bongosero in the dance orchestra of Jesús Montalvo.

In 1932, Pío Leyva made his true debut as a professional vocalist as part of the excellent Septeto Caribe under the direction of maestro Juanito Blez. Already in those years, Pío possessed a splendid, well-tuned and rhythmic voice of a black Cuban countryside singer that identified him with the creole tradition.

In the 1940s, he moved to the city of Camagüey and joined the orchestra of Hermanos Licea, acquiring the necessary experience to launch himself in the 1950s to conquer the capital as part of the Orquesta Hermanos Martín.

In the 1950s, he went to Havana as a soloist and recorded numerous records accompanied by various musical groups, and became famous with his version of "El cangrejo no tiene ná," which placed him at the top of the country's soneros.

In 1956, already residing in Havana, Pío Leyva made two test recordings for the famous RCA Víctor records and had the great fortune of being accompanied by one of the most important Jazz Bands of the time: Sabor de Cuba, under the direction of the talented Cuban pianist and orchestrator Bebo Valdés (father of Chucho Valdés).

On that occasion, he recorded in his voice the son-montuno "Sin caña y sin platanal," and his own composition "Chapaleando," which would make him known in Mexico for his graceful way of singing it with the tasty rhythm of bachata, and the release of his first LP titled "Soy de Jaronú" with the orchestra of Mariano Mercerón; experiences that helped establish him as a quality sonero and fabulous improviser, which led him to be invited on countless occasions to participate in recordings of renowned groups such as the Cosmopolita, Monumental, Novedades orchestras and the group of Compay Segundo.

This was the beginning of his first recording successes that were consolidated with titles such as "Chachachá," "Mis tres mujeres" (A. Díaz), the conga "Ritmos de Cuba" (S. Contreras), the son-montunos "Yo bailo con ella" (P. Salazar), but above all "Pío mentiroso" (M. Ojeda) and Pío's own response, "Cariñoso sí, mentiroso no." It was to be expected that El Pío and Bebo Valdés with his musicians would later (1959) tour Mexico where they performed on important stages in that country.

The 1950s, called by some the Golden Decade for its abundant and excellent dance groups, where Pío Leyva is one of the most emblematic figures, performing and recording prolifically with others of great prestige such as Bebo Valdés, Esteban Antune, Severino Ramos, Niño Rivera, Joaquín Mendive, Emiliano Peñalver and Mariano Mercerón. This is the era where Pío consolidated his fame as El montunero de Cuba, interpreting guarachas, sons, boleros, rumbas, mambos, merengues and plenas where titles such as "Cuidado con los callos," "El cangrejal," "Domitila," "Llegaron las golondrinas," "Anabacoa" and "El bombón de Elena" became fashionable. The titles "Francisco Guayabal" and "Mulata" were successes in the voice of Benny Moré, and Sibanicú was popularized by Roberto Faz and his group.

He participated prominently in the Buena Vista Social Club and AfroCuban All Stars projects, headed by Ry Cooder, Nick Gold, Juan de Marcos González, Omara Portuondo, Ibrahím Ferrer, Rubén González, Compay Segundo, Barbarito Torres and El Guajiro Mirabal, among others.

When thinking about retirement at 78 years of age, he was still in good form, and he joined other soneros of his generation and formed the Buena Vista Social Club, a collective of musicians that became legendary. In 1998 they won a Grammy in the traditional music category, and their story was brought to film by Wim Wenders.

Cuban Music, the Children of Buena Vista Social Club was one of his last musical-cinematographic works in 2003. A film made in Cuba and Japan that brought together the best young artists of the 1990s generation: Roberto Carcassés, Samuel Formell, Mayito Rivera, Osdalgia, Feliciano Arango, Alexander Abreu, Julito Padrón, among others.

Discography and Filmography
El montunero de Cuba

An anthology that brings together a wide selection of his hits, among which stand out titles such as "Déjenme en paz," "El bombón de Elena" and "La alegría del montuno."

Repertoire:

Buen tumbao
Vamos pa'l guateque
Llegaron las golondrinas
Resuena tu bongó
Déjenme en paz
Anabacoa
Dulce cubanita
Me voy pa' la luna
Total
Adiós, Mariquita
Todo lo tengo ya
Cuando tú vayas a Oriente
El bombón de Elena
Piénsalo bien
El pirimpimpín
Canto a Caracas
No juegues conmigo
La alegría del montuno.

This Is My Rumba

An album that brings together very popular timbres in varied combinations in which we hear boleros such as "Anita," in the fusion of the voices of Pío Leyva and Compay Segundo; a son by Ciro Rodríguez Fourneau "La china en la rumba," which Pío takes to the guaguancó-son style that Arsenio accustomed us to. Another variant is the guaracha-son "Óigame, compay," a true display of jokes, with the use of absurd décimas, so often sung by Cuban peasants. "Esta es mi rumba," the theme that titles this album, is an excellent guaguancó with its long improvisations in décima form and the percussion of the masters of Clave and Guaguancó. The improvisation of Germán Velazco's alto saxophone gives it a novel freshness. In "Oye como suena," a classic son-montuno, the group approaches the sextet format, quartets are improvised alternating with solos and stubborn choir responses; and Pancho Amat shows his mastery with the tres. Another son-montuno is "Canta El Gallo de Morón," in which he again improvises absurd décimas amusingly describing his illusory ailments. He is accompanied by the current Septeto of Ignacio Piñeiro.

Two ladies were invited to this album to interpret two anthology themes. The son "Arrolla cubano," by Ignacio Piñeiro, is sung by Omara Portuondo with the depth and delicacy of her voice that plays in dialogue with improvisations with the wit of Pío Leyva. Besides Teresa García Caturla, also a student of Aida Diestro. I managed to give new character to a guaracha that many years ago had political significance, when it criticized the boastful person who was empty and who only appeared, like a bird, with a bloated crop and many feathers. The old son "Sutileza," by Ignacio Piñeiro, in which they treat death with a tone of jest, are Pedrito Calvo and Pío, a custom that Piñeiro introduced in some of his other works. Finally: "Ritmo repeché." All this collection of stars demonstrated their virtuoso abilities, in a great piano discharge with the admirable group of percussionists, the brass making a basic tumbao, the emotional intervention of Generoso's trombone. This ending becomes heated and makes dancers jump into the ring to participate in this great sound party, in this rumbón of Pío Leyva.

One of his themes, "La alegría del montuno" is part of the album Sones de oro, from the Egrem label, which offers a tour through the history of the son.

In 2002, under the direction of Léster Hamlet, director of video and theater, they produced the video for the single "La china en la rumba" from his album Esta es mi rumba, from the Unicornio label.

His recordings were made by the Victor, Velvet, Maipe, Gema labels, and shortly after EGREM, which comprise numerous compilations for the compact system in Cuba and other countries.

Participated in the films Música cubana (2004) and Buena Vista Social Club (1999).