Cuban Singer Benny Moré’s Tomb to Be Declared National Monument

"I asked Compay Segundo (of Bueno Vista Social Club fame), who knew Moré during the 1940s, to describe the man behind the music. ‘He was very tall and very black, he always wore a hat with a huge brim and he carried a cane,’ the veteran singer answered, 'he was a showman and he was the greatest of them all. No one else came near.'"

Lajas, Cienfuegos.— Benny Moré (August 24, 1919 – February 19, 1963), considered by many fans of Cuban music as the greatest Cuban singer of all time, was gifted with an innate musicality and fluid tenor voice which he colored and phrased with great expressivity. Moré was a master all the genres of Cuban music, including son montuno, mambo, guaracha, guajira, cha cha cha, Afro-Cuban, canción, guaguancó, and bolero.

To celebrate the legendary singer’s life, the Cuban government will declare his tomb a National Monument on September 19, at the conclusion of the traditional mass pilgrimage to his resting place in his Central Cuban hometown of Santa Isabel de las Lajas, in Cienfuegos Province.

Music Festival Planned in Benny Moré’s Honor

The formal ceremony will also kick off the International Festival Popular Music, which is being dedicated to Moré this year.

The festival will start up this coming Wednesday with the accompaniment of street bands, which will precede the pilgrimage. These are expected to be joined in by locals and visitors alike who will participate in the procession to where the artist’s remains rest.

A following day —and as part of the festival— National Monument designation will also be given to the Casino de los Congos de San Antonio, renowned site and center of African cosmogony in the area.

The festival —which in addition to Lajas, will also be celebrated in the cities of Havana and Cienfuegos— will feature exhibitions, the creation of murals, craft fairs, film presentations on Cuban music, and the launching of books on Afro-Cuban themes. Giving even more depth to the activities, a colloquy will be presented on traditional popular Cuban music, led by National Museum of Music Director Dr. Jesus Gómez Cairo.

Among the variety of nationally and internationally-famed Cuban artists who will be performing daily in the Benny Moré Square and other festival venues will be Manolito Simonet y su trabuco, Yumurí y sus hermanos, and Cándido Fabré and his orchestra – all paying homage to the "King of Rhythm."

As festival organizers noted, in the aftermath of the 1959 revolution, many of Cuba’s top musical figures abandoned the country seeking greater fame and fortune elsewhere. Nonetheless, Moré —the greatest of them all— stayed in Cuba to be among, as he said, "mi gente" (my people). As is evident from the planned activities, his people continue to feel that presence.