Patricio Ballagas Palacio ( Camagüey, 17 March 1879 –

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 15 February 1920) was a Cuban composer and guitarist, considered an important innovator in

trova ''Trova'' is a style of Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cuba, and earned their living by s ...

music. His compositions were written in time when most others were composing in time; and more important, he invented 'double text', where the melody is superimposed over the lead vocal, which then becomes the second voice. He introduced contracanto into the trova form, so that the second voice changes from being intimately connected to the first voice to becoming a melodic and harmonic expression with its own identity. The historian of trova, Dulcilla Cañizares, asks the question "Por qué no, Patricio Ballagas?Cañizares, Dulcila 1995. ''La trova tradicional''. 2nd ed, La Habana. p. 64 She thinks he should rank as one of the top five of trova. His short life probably militated against greater recognition of his talent. "Timidez", written in 1914, is his most famous number. As a musician, Ballagas was a member of the Cuarteto Nano and formed a duo with Alejandro Montalván.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballagas, Patricio 1879 births 1920 deaths Cuban male singer-songwriters Cuban guitarists Cuban male guitarists People from Camagüey Musicians from Havana 19th-century Cuban male singers Cuban songwriters Male songwriters 20th-century guitarists 20th-century Cuban male singers