Pedro Aguilar aka Cuban Pete passing
January 13th, 2009 Allan Tabilas Posted in Salsa |
Our friend Cindy Torruellas passed us the information of the tragic passing of Pedro Aguilar, aka “Cuban Pete”. David Fincher from the Associated Press has written an article with additional information. Our condolences goes to Cuban Pete’s friends and family. Below is a snippet of the article
…Aguilar was born in
Puerto Rico in 1927 and grew up in the New York barrio. He picked up the nickname “Cuban Pete” in 1949 at the Palladium Ballroom in New York. The nickname referenced a Desi Arnaz song, and Arnaz himself later endorsed Aguilar’s use of it.
…Besides countless performances at many high profile venues over his career, Aguilar performed twice at the White House, once for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and again for President Lyndon B. Johnson. He also performed for Queen Elizabeth of England and Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion.
David Cazares from the Sun-Sentinel newspaper has written a blog post saying goodbye to Cuban Pete, where he also quotes an extensive article from Deborah Ramirez, who in 1999 profiled Pedro Aguilar. This Saturday, January 17, a gathering celebrating Aguilar’s life in Hollywood, CA, along with Memorial Services. Please read David Cazares blog post for more information.
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