02/15/07
Remembering
Tatá Güines 1931 - 2008
by Luis De Quesada (Luis_de_Quesada@descarga.com)
photos by David Garten (David_Garten@descarga.com)
Descarga.com contributor Luis de Quesada recalls the great Cuban conguero Federico Arístides Soto Alejo, known as Tatá Güines, who passed away on February 4th.
I remember "Tatá Güines" when he was tumbador / conguero in the "monster charanga" of Fajardo y Sus Estrellas in Cuba from 1949-1956. He recorded first for Puchito and other labels and finally for Panart in Cuba. Virtually the entire charanga orchestra had originally belonged to flutist Antonio Arcaño until 1949, when his then flutist and illustrious alumnus José Fajardo took it over. Actually that orquesta split, members Antonio Sanchez, Enrique Jorrin, Gustavo Tamayo and others joined Orquesta America, while Ulpiano Diaz, Elio Valdes, Felix Reina, Israel Lopez "Cachao" and others joined Fajardo. Reina, I might add, used to be shared by both Fajardo and Orquesta America de Ninon Mondejar.
Fajardo y sus Estrellas, to my knowledge, is where Aristides Soto "Tatá Güines" was first featured as tumbador, or conga player. However charangas do not quite offer the ideal musical background and rhythms for conga players to shine and in 1956, "Cachao" left Fajardo to form his own Descarga Conjunto or Ensemble and Tatá joined him in the venture. This was a better venue for Tatá to display his talents as a very talented conga player. The ensemble was very successful, played in virtually every nightspot in Havana and was featured on radio and television. They were under contract to various Cuban record labels, mainly Panart and Maype labels, to mention just two of them. After Cachao left Cuba the same year and time I did, in the fall of 1961, Tatá Güines stayed and initiated a career of free lancing and at times directed his own ensemble. He did not leave an extensive compositions repertoire, he was not a skilled composer, but he did influence many musical arrangements and it can be said without a shadow of a doubt that Tatá was among Cuba's very best and most famous conga players and percussionists, perhaps only surpassed by Chano Pozo in his conga playing skills To be honest, Chano also was more of a composer than Tatá ever was, but as you know, his career was cut short by his untimely death in Harlem in December of 1948.
 With his death in Havana at age 77, early in the morning of Monday, February 4th, the "old guard of Cuban music" (and we, its witnesses) suffer one of our greatest losses. It goes without saying that his repertoire and memory will inspire generations of percussionists to come, as he has certainly influenced the present new generation in Cuba, here in the U.S. and elsewhere. Aristides Soto aka "Tatá Güines" is now part of that great Cuban orchestra in the sky and I am sure the Gods are delighted with so much talent in paradise.
May he be in God's care and may he bless him forever. Farewell dear old friend!
Sincerely.
Luis de Quesada,Sr.
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