Abelardo Barroso: The First Sonero Mayor

The art of the sonero — the improvising lead singer of the Cuban son — has a long lineage, and near its very start stands Abelardo Barroso, a voice so commanding that he is remembered as the first "Sonero Mayor."^[1]

A voice from Cayo Hueso

Abelardo Barroso Dargelez was born on 21 September 1905 in Cayo Hueso, a Havana barrio famous as a birthplace of rumberos and soneros.^[2] He began his career singing with the Sexteto Habanero, one of the foundational ensembles of the son, and his powerful, ringing voice and gift for improvisation quickly made him a star — the public nicknamed him "Caruso" after the great operatic tenor.^[1]

He sang with leading son groups and típica orchestras, became an interpreter of the danzonete — the sung hybrid of danzón and son — and even led his own charanga, López-Barroso.^[2]

A second life with Sensación

By the early 1950s Barroso's fame had faded, and in 1954 he was working as a percussionist at the Sans-Souci cabaret when he was recognized and — on the recommendation of Benny Moré — invited to record with the Orquesta Sensación.^[2] The pairing was magic: backed by the charanga's flute and violins, Barroso's mature voice produced a string of beloved recordings of sones and cha-cha-chás that made him a star all over again.^[2] He retired in 1969 and died in Havana on 27 September 1972.^[2]

Why he matters

Abelardo Barroso matters because he carried the art of the sonero from the birth of the son through to its mid-century flowering. As an early voice of the Sexteto Habanero he helped define what a son singer could be, and his extraordinary second career with Orquesta Sensación proved the timelessness of that art. Alongside Ignacio Piñeiro and the Trío Matamoros, he stands among the founders of the sung son — the first of the soneros mayores.