When the legendary Chano Pozo was dazzling the bars in the Marianao area with his music and other drummers were lavishing fame to Los Pocitos neighborhood as the cradle of of the top drummers, the Abreu brothers were emerging to the scene in that section of Havana.
They learned by playing on little tin cans, later on small candle boxes, large wooden cod boxes and tablespoons and then finally on tumbas, tumbadoras, tres golpes, quintos and claves. The youthful brothers Ricardo, Luis, Alfredo and Jesús began their careers accompanying orchestras, working in cabarets, and conducting fellow percussionists in shows in nightclubs such as Tropicana and the Parisien.
In the 1950s, Ricardo formed his own group: Papin y sus Rumberos, with two of his brothers and in 1962 created the vocal and percussion quartet Los Papines, playing rumba as their fundamental musical expression (Guanguanco, Columbia, Yambú, Jiribilla). They also included in their repertoire other rhythms such as the Conga, the Son and the captivating Bolero.
They received vocal performance lessons from Luis Carbonell, the so called watercolourist of the West Indian Poetry.
Los Papines performed and recorded with the world’s top Latin performers such as: Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, Oscar D’Leon, Giovanni Hidalgo, Manny Oquendo, Andy González, Omara Portuondo, Rubén Gonzalez, Cachaito López and Arturo Sandoval, to mention just a few.
The group received the Grammy Latino of 2001 with La Rumba soy yo.
At the close of 2001, the quartet suffered the loss of Alfredo, the third of the brothers, who was a genuine exponent of Cuban percussion and acknowledged as such throughout the world for 38 years.
Los Papines’ greatest virtue is their respect for family tradition, exemplified by the inclusion of the new generation, Luis Abreu Chantres, a young and talented percussionist and performer. The band also added its first female member, percussionist and vocalist Yuliet Abreu Fernández (Jesús daughter), undeniably a descendant of master musicians.
Ricardo “Papin” Abreu died in 2009 and Luis Abreu died in 2012.
Discography:
Fantasia En Ritmo (Areito, 1965)
Guaguanco Con To’Los Hierros (Manopla Records ,1973)
Los Papines (Areito, 1974)
Homenaje A Mis Colegas (Vitral, 1985)
Somos del Caribe (Areito, 1987)
El Retorno A La Semilla (Areito, 1988)
Rumba Sin Alarde (Bis Music, 1994)
Concierto En El Lincoln Center (Egrem, 2000)
Ray Barretto & New World Spirit Featuring James Moody & Los Papines – Trancedance (Circular Moves, 2000)
Papines En Descarga (Orfeon, 2001)
Los Papines De Ricardo Abreu Papín – Auténtico Guaguancó (Calle Mayor, 2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
