~by Dena Burroughs
MIGUELITO VALDES - "MR. BABALU"
Most people, upon seeing a Latin man wearing a ruffle-sleeved shirt, hitting a conga drum, and singing “Babalu” would immediately think: “Ricky Ricardo.” Desi Arnaz turned himself into an American classic with his performance as the Latin heartthrob that sang his nights away at The Tropicana Club in “I Love Lucy.”
What hardly anyone knows is the man whom Arnaz based his character on: the real singer of “Babalu,” the one who wore the Babalu-sleeved shirts first and pounded on a colorfully decorated conga while singing to his Orishas: Cuban artist Miguelito Valdes.
Valdes was born in Havana sometime between 1910 and 1916 – the date is debated. In 1937 he formed Orquesta Casino de la Playa, which became well known in the island. Two years later he recorded the famous “Babalu” song, a composition by legendary Cuban songwriter Margarita Lecuona. In 1940 Valdes left Cuba and arrived in New York where his musical talent was quickly recognized, and two years later, in 1942, he landed on the cover of Billboard magazine.
He experienced a decline in the 1950s, oddly about the time the “I Love Lucy” show first aired (1951). He was at this time competing with younger voices, such as Beny More, but found himself in the spotlight again in 1968 when his own TV show, El Show de Miguelito Valdes, aired on New York’s Channel 41. After years on TV, a movie career in Mexico, and decades of touring, Valdes died like a true artist – struck by a heart attack while performing on a stage in Colombia.
A few years ago Valdes’s daughter contacted CSULA music professor Paul De Castro and offered to donate a few of her father’s articles to the university. The items are now displayed in a glass-enclosed table on the second floor of the JFK Library, in the connecting overpass to the Palmer Wing.
To inaugurate the display, and in an effort to bring the life and accomplishments of Miguelito Valdes to the forefront, De Castro and music professor Danilo Lozano organized a discussion that was held in the library last Thursday. Dr. Steve Loza, music professor at UCLA, was invited to be part of the presenting panel. Dr. Loza called Valdes “one of the greatest soneros” of all time. (A sonero is a singer that can improvise the lyrics of a song, often in rhyme form, to fit the immediate audience and circumstances.)
An audience of about 60 gathered to learn Valdes’s biography and watch him perform in a few preserved videos. Members of the crowd spoke about their own memories of Valdes - some used to watch his TV show along with their grandparents back in the day.
The event successfully shone light again on this semi-forgotten artist, much more influential than he’s normally given credit for – Miguelito Valdes and his real “Babalu.”
Some of the items donated to CSULA:
Dr. Steve Loza and Prof. Paul De Castro
