Buena Vista Social Club Star Dies

07/11/2011
. (Gibson) Manuel Galban, the Cuban guitar great who helped Buena Vista Social Club rise to prominence, died last week (July 7) in Havana after suffering a heart attack. He was 80 years old.

Born in Gibara, Cuba in 1931, Galb�n saw his career hit its stride in the late '50s, after he settled in Havana and began playing bars and clubs. Essentially self-taught, he became one of the first guitarists to use his right hand to mute the strings and create dry tones, moving the guitar's sound closer to that of a percussive instrument.

In 1963, he joined Los Zafiros, a vocal group that combined traditional Cuban styles with bolero, doo-wop, calypso, bossa nova and rock. That fusion transformed Los Zafiros into one of the most popular Cuban groups of all time. more on this story

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