Rolando Laserie (born August 27, 1923, died November 22, 1998) was a Cuban singer and percussionist. He started his career as a percussionist with bands in his hometown, In 1998, ''

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'' and ''

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'' magazine described him as one of the great Cuban singers of all time and as one of the greatest vocalists in

Cuban music The music of Cuba, including its instruments, performance, and dance, comprises a large set of unique traditions influenced mostly by west African and European (especially Spanish) music. Due to the syncretic nature of most of its genres, Cuban mu ...

Biography

Rolando Laserie was born in

Santa Clara, Cuba Santa Clara is the capital city of the Cuban province of Villa Clara Province, Villa Clara. It is centrally located in the province and Cuba. Santa Clara is the List of cities in Cuba, fifth-most populous Cuban city, with a population of nearly ...

. He started his musical career at a young age as a percussionist with musical bands in his hometown. Prior that, he moved to the capital of Cuba, Havana, where he performed with numerous musical groups including Benny More's band, Banda Gigante. Laserie later transitioned into singing and appeared with Tony Álvarez and

Olga Chorens Olga Chorens (born 7 February 1924) is a Cuban singer and actress. She started music early as young as 11. She gained huge fame after performing in the Cuban radio musical program ''Ritmos del Plata'' hosted by Tony Álvarez. They both played wi ...

as a singing trio which was assisted by Cuban pianist,

Bebo Valdés Dionisio Ramón Emilio Valdés Amaro (October 9, 1918 – March 22, 2013), better known as Bebo Valdés, was a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. He was a central figure in the golden age of Cuban music, especially due to his big b ...

radio orchestra. In 1960 when

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

took power, Laserie frequently moved from city to city with his wife, including

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and

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where he would eventually relocate and settle. Laserie became an American citizen, he recorded over 30 studio albums before his death in 1998. He also appeared alongside Israel López Valdés for a reunion concert in 1996

Death

Laserie died of cardiac disease in Healthsouth Doctor's Hospital in

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, United States, and was buried at the Miami Memorial Park Cemetery.

Discography

Recordings according to

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Album

* 1977: ''2 Ases al Tiro'' * 1982: ''Del Película'' * 1998: ''¡De Película'' * 1998: ''El Guapachoso'' * 1999: ''Homenaje Al Guapachoso'' * 1999: ''Todo el Tiempo…'' * 2000: ''15 Exitos, vol.2'' * 2004: ''SaborCanta'' * 2007: ''¡el Muerto Vivo!'' * 2008: ''Transplante de Corazón'' * 2008: ''Cada Noche un Amor'' * 2008: ''Arrecotin Arrecotan'' * 2008: ''Viejo Rabo Verde'' * 2008: ''El Reloj De Pastora'' * 2008: ''Cuánto Te Quiero'' * 2008: ''Camina Catalina''

Collaborations with others

With

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y su combo and

Ismael Rivera Ismael Rivera a.k.a. "Maelo" (October 5, 1931 – May 13, 1987), was a Puerto Rican composer and salsa singer. Early life Rivera was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, a sector of San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was the first of five children born to ...

*''Danger'' (Gema Records, in Puerto Rico, 1962; Rumba, in mainland United States, 1966) With

Tito Puente Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz c ...

*''Pachanga in New York'' (Gema Records, 1961)

References

External links

Rolando Laserie
at

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Libraries
Rolando Laserie
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lasserie, Rolando 1923 births 1998 deaths Cuban musicians Latin musicians by genre Jazz musicians People from Santa Clara, Cuba