Cuban repentista Alonso Pino, "El Pino de Cangrejeras," dies while improvising at a canturía

October 17, 2026

Romualdo Alonso Pino, the Cuban repentista known as "El Pino de Cangrejeras," died on October 11 in the village of La Salud, in Quivicán, Mayabeque province, while performing at a canturía, a gathering of improvised décima poetry, according to the décima platform D'Canturía and the newspaper Artemisa Diario.

Artemisa Diario wrote that the poet collapsed while his last sung verses were still hanging in the air for the audience. Only minutes earlier he had been trading verses with the young repentista Yasel García. A native of Cangrejeras, in the municipality of Bauta, he was 79.

Alonso Pino was one of the most familiar faces on Palmas y Cañas, Cuban television's long-running showcase for country music and the décima, especially during the 1980s and 1990s. His on-air verse duels with Elio Vidal, "El Cucalambito," and José Miguel Bello, "El Intelectual de Marianao," are still remembered by fans of the genre.

D'Canturía sent its condolences to his family and especially to repentista Mercy Estrada, his partner in art and in life. His death comes only weeks after that of broadcaster Fernando Guardado, who hosted the same program for nearly four decades.