Gilberto Monroig biography
Date of birth : 1930-07-02
Date of death : 1996-05-03
Birthplace : Santurce, Puerto Rico
Nationality : Puerto Rican
Category : Famous Figures
Last modified : 2011-07-08
Credited as : Jazz guitarist, World Fusion, boleros
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At age 14 he joined a band called Conjunto Maravilla, and later joined a group of university students as a singer and guitarist in a band that played at the King Club in San Juan's marina. He was soon playing at the China Doll club in Santurce, then when he was only 15 years old he moved to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico to sing in the William Manzano Orchestra. After six months he was recruited by Rafael Elvira's Super Orquesta Tropicana. Gilberto subsequently sang with Pete Rivera, Armando Castro, José Curbelo, Tito Puente, then in 1955 returned to Puerto Rico to pursue a career as a soloist. His romantic voice brought him great success , recording more than 40 singles and 30 LP albums, including songs by composers Pedro Flores and Rafael Hernández. He won a gold record in 1959 for his rendition of Moisés Zoaín's song "Egoismo," and another in 1964 for "Simplemente una ilusión" composed by Héctor Urdaneta. He was well known in many United States' cities and Latin American countries, despite his dislike of travel.
He died of lung cancer.
Puerto Rico has honored his memory by naming an avenue in San Juan after him. In 2002, he was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame.
