Remembering Juanito Márquez: Cuban Jazz Man, Rock-and-Roller and Romantic
Playlist: From "Pa' Cá," boleros and descargas to Miami Sound Machine.
Cuban guitar god, trend-setting composer and influential arranger who impacted the sound of contemporary Latin music, Juanito Márquez was known for both his wild talent and his quiet modesty.
Márquez died at age 95 last month, on June 21. As shown by the many condolences and tributes that have appeared since then -Emilio Estefan called him “a king”-Márquez was a musician’s musician, a man whose natural inclination was to share the credit.
“We listened to each other mutually,” he told me during a conversation about his career that I had with him in 2019, when he participated in a tribute concert in honor of Israel Lopez “Cachao,” one of the many artists with whom he exchanged musical ideas and mutual respect in Cuba.
“It was a chain of creativity.”