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Regardless of having taken music studies at the age of 7, we can say that Pachito Alonso also learned on the run because a part of the performer he is today is owed to the influence he received from his father Pacho Alonso, an icon of Cuban music. When he was a kid, he used to attend his father’s presentations and later on, as a student, he joined his old man’s orchestra as an arranger. After his graduation, he joined the band as a keyboardist, though still working an arranger and songwriter. All this experience paved the way for his taking the helm of the band following Pacho’s passing in 1983.

One of the features that have singled out Pachito during these 30 years is the fact that he trained many crooners that today stand out as lead singers within Cuba’s popular music. His band churned out the likes of Isaac Delgado, two of Van Van’s current singers –Lele and Robertón– and the duet of the Nuviola Sisters, a group that reached its pinnacle in the early 1990s as part of his band. It was precisely in those years when his orchestra was first called Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini.

“The late Papin (former member of Los Papines) was a witty guy and he always had this word to call things. It kind of rubbed off on me and I used to tell everybody, ‘this doesn’t have kini kini.’ Manolo Diaz, who at that time was the president of CBS, now Emi Capitol Latina, told me, ‘let’s call your band Pachito Alonso y sus Kini Kini.’ And that’s how we got that name, and under that name we’ve been around the world, even in Las Vegas.”

Though there are orchestras of Cuban dance music galore, the Pachito’s Kini Kini has managed to provide a genuine sound that tells them apart from the rest of the bands. The opening notes of any of his songs give his band away.

“You know, artists always follow a pattern, but then there comes a time when you have to get off the fence. I can’t recall who told me that, but it did get me my own style. The tumbaos are what actually make a difference when compared to the rest. Anyone can ­recognize when Peruchin or Joseito are performing a tumbao of their own. I had the satisfaction of being a pupil of Peruchin’s, the man who introduced the funky style among us.”

Yet I dare say that what actually distinguishes Pachito’s music is his ability to drink from the source all the time. Even though he made a career out of pushing his own style, he kept his father’s music alive and kicking, and he hasn’t stopped rearranging songs that were many of his dad’s blockbusters, including Pilon, a rhythm that was born in the 1960s and that he managed to play with a new style in the 80s and 90s, making it catch back on all over again. He has followed his own path and is currently giving the finishing touches to a project that pays tribute to his father and to Antonio Machin, a Cuban who is an icon for the Spanish public.

“This is a CD I’ve been mulling over for quite some time because of Machin’s ties with my father. Together they performed sold-out concerts in Barcelona. I’ve included one of father’s hits entitled A Cualquiera se le Muere un Tio, as well as El Manisero, that both my dad and Machin used to sing. That’s how the idea is going and we’ve sold the show already for the month of October.”

Faithful to the family tradition, Pachito Alonso’s three children have followed on their dad’s footsteps. The boys –Cristian and Rey– are members of his band, while his daughter Yolena, with her company Yoldance, has sort of covered part of the absences and necessities Cuba’s musical theater has right now.

“I enjoy being with my family and I had my father’s teachings. My dad prepared me to be a respected leader of the band in my time and I’ve done exactly the same. When my son Cristian joined the band as a singer –he was a trumpeter– he’d been on the road with me for a while. Then he prepared his own brother. Now they write most of the band’s songs culled in the latest CDs, they make their productions and are pretty independent.”