Rolando Laserie

Cuban singer, musician, and entertainer who left an indelible mark in the history of Cuban popular music. At age 9, Rolando taught himself how to play percussion and it was obvious he had a great ear for music and Afro Cuban rhythms. As a teenager, he was good enough to play with the Municipal Band of Santa Clara and the famed Arcaño Orchestra. In 1946 he decided to try his luck in Havana and became the percussionist of the Hermanos Palau Orchestra, moving later to the popular Beny Moré's Banda Gigante in which he played "timbales" and sang background vocals. Slowly, Rolando became aware he had a singing voice with a unique sound, and decided he could express himself better as a vocalist. With the help of musician and arranger Ernesto Duarte, Rolando defined a singing style that, at the beginning was controversial, but it would prove to be extremely commercial. Duarte introduced him to his partner Guillermo Álvarez Guedes, an actor turned record mogul, and together they recorded Rolando in a bolero titled "Mentiras tuyas". As soon as the single was released, radio DJs began playing it, and audiences loved it so much that the single sold 30,000 copies in a few days. More recordings followed and a superstar had been born. Rolando had a big open voice which was "slightly hoarse and aggressive" according to the New York Times, but most important, he lived the lyrics to his songs and delivered his feelings with such a resolved bravado that audiences could not help but be impacted. In order to highlight the message of a song, Rolando included some ad libs that quickly became part of popular Cuban culture. During his singing, which was always up-tempo and effervescent, he would utter phrases like "de película!" meaning "this is like a movie!" or "mira esto Tita" meaning "can you believe it Tita? (Tita was his pet name for wife Gisela, a marriage that lasted for 55 years). With hit platters constantly playing on radio stations earning him several gold records, he was in great demand on television, theaters, night clubs and he did them all with a vengeance. If his sound and style made his fortune in the recording studio, performing live Rolando Laserie acquired an extra dimension. First of all it was his looks, always smartly dressed in fashionable suits, matching ties or bows, and topping it all with a mischievous cap on his head which became his trademark. He also demonstrated being a consummate performer with his up-tempo singing even on romantic songs which was a marvel of improvisation and sound. His attack and enthusiasm earned him the nickname ''El Guapo de la Canción,'' and "El Guapachoso" which in Cuban slang translates as valiant or bold singer. In 1959, at the top of his fame and popularity, Rolando's world changed dramatically almost overnight when Cuba fell to a communist dictatorship. All freedoms were abolished on the island and he decided he could not live under the repression and mandates of the new regime. Like thousands of his compatriots, Rolando went into exile which meant leaving behind all he had earned and starting again from scratch. It helped that his name and prestige were fairly well established in other Latin American countries and, after a couple of years struggling to relaunch his career, Rolando received valuable support from record labels in Mexico and Argentina. He kept releasing singles and albums that became huge hits and had long residencies in various Latin American countries, always with wife Gisela by his side. He toured extensively throughout the continent and Spain appearing in theaters, night clubs and television, ratifying time and again his immense popularity. As time moved on he settled down in Miami which had become the center of the Cuban exile community and where he felt more at home. It was said that Rolando never overcame his sadness at having to abandon his homeland but always hoped to see a free Cuba during his lifetime. Unfortunately, it never happened and Rolando developed a form of heart decease that curtailed his artistic activity. His heart finally gave out at Healthsouth Doctors' Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida on November 22, 1998 at age 75. The unique Cuban vocalist stills lives through his recordings and in the memory of a faithful public.