Osvaldo Farrés (; January 13, 1903 – December 22, 1985) was a Cuban songwriter and composer best known for having written the songs "", "", "", and "".

Early life

Farrés was born in 1903 in the small city of

Quemado de Güines Quemado de Güines () is a municipality and town in the Villa Clara Province of Cuba. It was founded in 1667. Geography The municipality is divided into the poblados of Caguaguas, Carahatas, Güines, Paso Cavado, Poblado, San Valentín and Zambum ...

Las Villas Las Villas is a natural region and ''comarca'' in Andalusia, southern Spain. It is located in the mountainous area at the eastern end of Jaén Province. The main town is Villacarrillo. Together with the Sierra de Cazorla and Sierra de Segura ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Career

Although unable to read or write music, he became a prolific and world-renowned composer. His songs include " Quizás, Quizás, Quizás", "Acércate Más", "Tres Palabras", "Toda Una Vida" and his own favorite "Madrecita" written in honor of his mother and sung to this day in Latin America on Mother's Day. His songs have been performed and recorded by stars such as

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

Eydie Gorme Eydie may refer to: * Eydie Gormé (1928–2013), American singer. * Steve and Eydie, an American pop vocal duet, * Eydie Whittington Eydie D. Whittington is a Democratic politician in Washington, D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission While ...

Pedro Vargas Pedro Vargas Mata (San Miguel de Allende, 29 April 1906 – Mexico City, 30 October 1989) was a Mexican tenor and actor, from the golden age of Mexican cinema, participating in more than 70 films. He was known as the "Nightingale of the Ameri ...

Raquel Bitton Raquel Bitton (born in Marrakesh, Morocco) is a French singer, actress and playwright. Biography In 1970, as a teenager, Bitton moved to San Francisco with her parents and brothers. She began to learn the songs from the French L'Âge d'or ('Gold ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (born 19 April 1970) is a Puerto Rican-born Mexican singer, often referred to as ''El Sol de México'' (The Sun of Mexico), which is the nickname his mother gave him as a child—"mi sol". Luis Miguel has sung in mu ...

Maurice Chevalier Maurice Auguste Chevalier (; 12 September 1888 – 1 January 1972) was a French singer, actor and entertainer. He is perhaps best known for his signature songs, including " Livin' In The Sunlight", " Valentine", "Louise", " Mimi", and "Thank Hea ...

Sara Montiel María Antonia Abad Fernández MML (10 March 1928 – 8 April 2013), known professionally as Sara Montiel, also Sarita Montiel, was a Spanish actress and singer, who also held Mexican citizenship since 1951. She began her career in the 1940s an ...

Olga Guillot Olga Guillot (October 9, 1922 – July 12, 2010) was a Cuban singer who was known as the "Queen of Bolero". She was a native of Santiago de Cuba. Biography Daughter of Catalan-Jewish immigrants who moved to Cuba, her father was a tailor and her ...

John Serry Sr. John Serry Sr. (born John Serrapica; January 29, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was an American concert accordionist, arranger, composer, organist, and educator. He performed on the CBS Radio and Television networks and contributed to Voic ...

, Cake''The Billboard''. "Advanced Record Releases - Alfredo Antonini and Viva America Orchestra", New York, Vol. 58 No. 14, 6 April 1946, P. 34 & P. 13
''Latin American Music'' - Alfredo Antonini and Viva America Orchestra in Billboard on books.google.com
/ref> and many others.

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

included ''Tres Palabras'' on his

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-winning 2001 album

Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

Personal life

In 1962, Farrés and his wife, Fina del Peso Farrés, left Cuba. They never returned. He died in

West New York, New Jersey West New York is a town in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 52,912. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates ...

, in 1985.

References

External links

''Osvaldo Farrés'' on imdb.com

''Osvaldo Farrés'' on worldcat.org

''Osvaldo Farrés'' - sound recordings of his boleros on archive.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farres, Osvaldo 1903 births 1985 deaths People from Quemado de Güines Cuban composers Male composers Cuban songwriters Male songwriters 20th-century male musicians Cuban male musicians