Alfredo Boloña
Illustration — Sexteto Boloña in 1926. Left to right: José Vega Chacón (guitar, 2nd voice), unknown (maracas, 1st voice), José Manuel Incharte 'El Chino' (bongó), Abelardo Barroso (vocals, claves), 'Tabito' (double bass), Alfredo Boloña (tres, leader). Boloña Jiménez (December 24, 1890 – 1964) was a Cuban guitarist who played a role in the early development of the son as director of the Sexteto Boloña.
Alfredo Boloña
- Born
- 1890 · Havana.
- Died
- 1964
- Nationality
- Cuba
- Occupation
- composer · guitarist
In this article
Career
Boloña was born in Havana on December 24, 1890. Boloña played the marímbula, the bongó and the tres at different times and, despite his physical limitations (dwarfism), he was a force in Cuban music for half a century. In 1910 he was already a figure of note in Havana, a member of the Los Apaches choral group and of the Trío Oriental, with Guillermo Castillo (guitar) and Carlos Godínez (tres). In 1915 Boloña formed a son group in Havana called Agrupación Boloña, with Hortensia Valerón (vocalist), Manuel Menocal (tres), Manuel Corona (guitar), Victoriano Lopéz (maracas) and Joaquín Velásquez (bongó).
In October 1926 his Sexteto Boloña recorded in New York City a set of numbers for Columbia Records, which were made available on CD in the 1990s. The lineup in these recordings included prolific singer Abelardo Barroso. The group split up in 1935.
Boloña's compositions included "Güagüina yirabo", "Riquieza en flor", "A la permanente", "Aurora en Pekín", "Dame un besito" and "Te esperaré en la retreta".
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Alfredo Boloña, revision 1329128236 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record.
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.1 Birth Certificate of Alfredo Boloña Jimenez. Book 2, Page 303. Vedado Civil Registry, Havana, Cuba. So given in Giro Radamés 2007. Diccionario enciclopédico de la música en Cuba. La Habana. vol 1, p. 147. Orovio, Helio 1981. Diccionario de la música cubana. La Habana. p. 53 gives 1890 as date of birth.
- 2.Orovio, Helio 2004. Cuban music from A to Z.
- 3.v. La historia del son cubano: Sexteto Boloña, the roots of salsa vol 1. Arhoolie/Folklyric LP 9053, as well as Tumbao TCD 060 Sexteto Boloña: Echale candela 1926.
- 4.Rodríguez, Ezequiel 1967. Obras del repertorio del Septeto Bologña. La Habana.
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 30 August 2026.
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