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La Vida En Black History Month
Cuban composer and creator of the danzon; Miguel Faílde Pérez was born in Guacamaro, Matanzas, on 23 December 1852 – and died on the 26^th of December 1921.

The founder of the Orquesta Faílde was born into a musical family, where Faílde’s father was a Galician immigrant, and his mother apard a  or in Cuban terms a darkmulatt a.  Taught to play music by his father, a trombone player, that by the time he was ten Faílde, played cornet in the Fire Fighters Band orLa Banda de Bomberos de Matanzas.  Under the tutalege of French musician Federico Peclier Miguel mastered harmony and composition along with learning the classical instruments; viola and double bass.

As a young man Faílde, was one of many musicians who actively conspired against the Spanish colonial rule. His musical influences at the time used African rhythms like the clave beat in Contradanza to relay messages and continue traditions under the guise of entertaining the masses.  Faílde even spent time fighting during the Cuban War of Independence.

His orchestra was highly successful and his major achievement was the creation of the danzón.  The danzón was, in his own words, a continuation of the contradanza, “De la danza al danzón había un simple paso.” The distance from the danza to the danzón is a simple step.”