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Dámaso Pérez Prado, a Cuban bandleader and composer, was born on December 11 1916 in Matanzas, Cuba. His mother was a school teacher, his father a newspaper man. He studied classical piano in his early childhood, and later played organ and piano in local clubs.
During the 1940s he worked mostly in Havana. In 1948 he moved to Mexico, where he spent most of his career. He specialized in mambo and with his characteristic fiery brass riffs and strong saxophone counterpoints he helped popularize the mambo.
Prado (aka "The Mambo King") is the composer of such famous pieces as "Mambo No. 5" and "Mambo No. 8". At the height of the mambo movement, in 1955, Pérez Prado hit the American charts at number one with a cha-cha-Version of "Cherry Pink" (composed by the frenchman Louiguy). It held the spot for 10 consecutive weeks. Prado had first covered this title for the movie "Underwater" in 1951, where Jane Russell can be seen dancing to "Cherry Pink". In 1958, Pérez Prado reached number one with one of his own compositions, "Patricia". This piece was later featured in the strip scene in Federico Fellini's movie "La Dolce Vita".
His popularity in the United States matched the peak of the first wave of interest in Latin music outside the Latino communities during the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s.
Pérez Prado also appeared in films in the United States and Europe as well as in Mexican cinema.
He died at the age of 72 on September 14, 1989 in Mexico City.de:Dámaso Pérez Prado fr:Perez Prado