Manolo Álvarez Mera(néManuel Ernesto Álvarez-Mera 7 November 1923
Havana, Cuba – 16 October 1986
New York City) was a
Cuban-born
tenor[1][2] who flourished as a
bel canto[3] during the late 1940s and 1950s. Despite having an operatic caliber voice, he gained popularity singing in operettas, musical reviews, radio, television, vaudeville, and major night clubs in Cuba,
New York, and
Latin America. He became a
Cuban exile in 1960 after the
Cuban Revolution.
Career
Cuba
Álvarez was born November 7, 1923, to Beniana (née Mera) and Manuel Alvarez in the
Luyanó neighborhood of
Diez de Octubre,
Havana, Cuba. After formally studying voice in
Havana, Álvarez performed for the first time in public at the Teatro Principal de la Comedia (Main Theater of Comedy) in
Havana in 1943, singing the role of Niño Fernando in María la O [
es], a one act
zarzuela, a characteristically Spanish genre of lyric and dramatic theatre. The lyrics were by Gustavo Sánchez Galarraga (1893–1934) and the music by
Ernesto Lecuona. Maruja González (1904–1999) sang the soprano role of Mary la O. He went on in 1944 to perform at the Teatro Lírico Cubano (Lyric Theater of Cuba), singing in La Plaza de la Catedral (The Cathedral Square), a
zarzuela by
Lecuona. He sang the same work for radio stations
RHC-Cadena Azul and
CMQ.
In his
Uruguay radio concerts, Álvarez was hailed "Sir Hyperbole!" Many of his interpretations, including María la O; Granada by
Agustín Lara; and Ay-Ay-Ay by
Osmán Pérez Freire, were interrupted with applause, and he was forced to repeat them three or four times. The night of the farewell, as he went on stage, the audience — more than two thousand excited people — threw a rain of carnations and roses, forming a cloak over him. The program was interrupted for a long time by this emotional tribute.
Álvarez continued his tour to
Brazil and also returned to
Buenos Aires. He had an exclusive recording contract with
Victor and recorded Granada by
Agustín Lara and Despedida by
María Grever with the RCA Orchestra under the direction of conductor Vieri Fidanzini.
United States
Álvarez returned to the United States in 1951. Accompanied by the Carlos Molina Orchestra (1899–1982), Álvarez sang Granada in a short 1953 film Carnival in April released in 3D by Universal. The film also featured
Toni Arden,
Josephine Premice, and Fernando Rodriguez. On April 4, 1954, he appeared on the television show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, with
Eddie Cantor. He also appeared at the
Flamingo Las Vegas with
Freddie Martin.
Hollywood
By mid-March 1953, Álvarez had been studying for six months with Arthur Rosenberg.[6] On April 18, 1954 — Easter Sunday — Álvarez sang The Lord's Prayer in a sunrise national broadcast produced by
David Rose at the
Hollywood Bowl with conductor
Miklós Rózsa.
In 1954, he appeared as a featured singer in New York at the
Waldorf Astoria with
Freddie Martin and His Orchestra. He also appeared at the
Edgewater Beach in
Chicago, and the Skyroom at the
Mapes Hotel in
Reno. He held a principal role in the production Spanish Fantasy, a show that toured
America, performing at venues that included the Terrace Room at the Statler Hotel in Los Angeles.[7] and the Empire Room at the
Statler Hilton in Dallas. He also sang on the NBC television program Saturday Night Review, Coast to Coast.
In August 1955, Álvarez was featured in a
Tropicana production of Evocación (Evocation) and Seis Lindas Cubanas (Six Pretty Cubans) the latter referencing the six provinces of Cuba (before the
Revolution). The production was staged by Rodrigo Neira, who was known as "Rodney".[a] The show was presented in a telecast from
Medellín,
Antioquia, and was a review of nineteenth century Cuban dance and music. Other performers included
Xiomara Alfaro, Cuarteto Faxas,[b] Estelita Santaló,[c]Cuarteto d'Aida, Leonela González,[d] the dancers Ana Gloria and Rolando,[e] and the Lago Sisters Trio.[f][8][9]
The same production, with mostly the same artists, including Álvarez, was presented in a telecast April 21, 1956.
In February 1958, Álvarez headlined in the Copa Room at the
Hotel Habana Riviera with
Cuarteto d'Aida.[10][11] Among his last stage performances in Cuba, he was acclaimed for his appearances in the theater as Ivan Marti in La leyenda del beso (1959) and Rosillon in The Merry Widow (1960). In Cuba, he performed on television, in theaters, on several recordings, and in casinos, which included the
Tropicana and
Hotel Capri.[1]
Álvarez married Delfina Cougil Fernandez (born 13 March 1925). They had two children, Teresita (Terry) (born 1959) and Manuel (born 1961). In 1963, he settled in New York, where he died on October 14, 1986.[2] He had lived at 216 West 102nd Street in Manhattan.
† The song "Always in My Heart" received an
Oscar nomination for "
Best Original Song," in the 1942 film, Always in My Heart, losing to "
White Christmas" from the film White Christmas. Nonetheless, some critics regard Álvarez's recording of "Siempre en mi corazon" as the best performance of the song.
‡ "
Mattinata" ("Morning"), written in 1904, was the first song ever written expressly for the
Gramophone Company (the present day
HMV).
^Leonela González (born 1930) was an actress who had a role in the 1950 Cuban film Siete muertes a plazo fijo; she had been
Tropicana's top dancer for seven years; she left Cuba June 1959
^Ana Gloria and Rolando (Ana Gloria Varona and Rolando García); Ana Gloria Varona was married to Luisito del Pozo, son of Justo Luis del Pozo, major of Havana from 1954 to 1958, and the last mayor before
overthrow; she was also a goddaughter of
Miguel Matamoros (1894–1971); Rolando immigrated to Miami and retired from dancing.
^Trío Hermanas Lago was a vocal trio of three sisters from Cuba widely credited as the first female trio to excel during the golden age of trios and
boleros in the 1940s and 1950s throughout Latin-America, and particularly in Cuba and Mexico; the founding sisters in 1932 were (a) Graciela Lago Muela (1918–1996), (b) Cristina Lago Muela (1919–1974), and (c) Esperanza Lago Muela (1921–1954); Esperanza married and left the group in 1947, and was replaced by Lucía Lago Muela (born 1925), another sister; Esperanza returned in 1950, making it a quartet; but Esperanza died in 1954, making it a trio again
^An alternate version of the claim was that
Mario Lanza was scheduled to appear on the
Ed Sullivan Show while he was shooting the film, Seven Hills of Rome. MGM, to protect their investment in Lanza, retained Álvarez as a reserve, and, according to lore, used him as a threat to strengthen Lanza's devotion to the film.
^Book: Historia Y Mitos De La Sonora Matancera Y Sus Estrellas (History And The Myths And Stars Sonora Matancera), by Diego Eduardo Montero Puentes,
Bogotá: Libro Historia Y Mitos De La Sonora Matancera Y Sus Extrellas: Preámbulo (blog site; posted July 28, 2015 by Diego Montero Puentes) (retrieved December 22, 2015)
^"En La Bodeguita Del Medio, Almuerzo En Honor A Manolo Álvarez Mera" (Ana Gloria on the cover), Show, "La Revista De Los Espectáculos" ("The Journal of the shows"), February 1958
The magazine was founded in 1954 by Cuban attorney Carlos Palma