Pepe Merino: The other Daniel Santos?

“I do not imitate anyone. The fact that I sing songs of the repertoire of Daniel Santos and my voice resembles his does not mean that I am imitating him. Daniel is so huge for someone to imitate him; I admire him as an artist, as a friend and a gentleman”, told me the singer Pepe Merino one day in a bar of turbulent Havana in the fifties.

Jose “Pepe” Merino Torres sang with the orchestra of the Palau Brothers in 1942, and in 1948 he switched to Gloria Matancera where he performed at RHC Cadena Azul radio station. At that time, he met Florencio Hernández "Carusito", singer and the maracas player of the group Gloria Matancera, which was presented in the program Eslabones de oro Partagás, and Pepe Merino sang Amor de medianoche, Campanitas de cristal and other pieces that were so much loved that Panart decided to record them.

But "Carusito" came up with the idea that Pepe Merino, for his voice and style of interpreting boleros, could sing the trackspopularized by Daniel Santos; until one day when the song Licor maldito was listened to in the bars’ phonographs sung by Daniel, and Panart asked Merino to record it. He did so and paced himself in the phonographs. It was a hit. When Daniel Santos listened to it, he went to look for Merino gun in hand. He found him, and saw in his room all the walls filled with photos and newspaper clippings in which he appeared. Daniel instantly realized that the singer did not want to hurt him, but that he was a great admirer of his art. He put the gun aside and became good friends, so good that Daniel even gave him his boleros arrangements for Merino to sing them.

Once, both singers performed in one of those fabulous dancing activities in the gardens of the Tropical brewery where they alternated; Merino with Gloria Matancera and Daniel Santos with the Sonora Matancera.

Merino and Daniel were not contemporaries. Pepe Merino was born in Havana on March 25, 1927 and died in the same city on November 27, 1996. While Daniel Santos saw the first light in the neighborhood of Trestalleres, in Santurce, Puerto Rico, on June 6, 1916 and died on November 27, 1992, in Ocala, Florida. Strange coincidence between the dates of death of both singers.

The truth is that it was not until Pepe Merino started singing Daniel’s songs that he became famous. He sang well, but did not have the popularity that any artist yearns. When he joined Gloria Matancera, with a format equal to the Sonora and musicians from Matanzas, a new world was opened for him, where the audience began to applaud him thanks to his great similarity in singing with the restless "Anacobero", whom already had more than enough fame in Cuba and the Caribbean. Merino’s voice, his phrasing, style and repertoire, very similar or almost equal to that of his idol Daniel took him to fame, but he never tried to outshine his teacher and friend.

When he mentioned him, he did it with great respect and affection; meanwhile, Daniel Santos was winning fame with his boleros and scandals that made him appear often in the pages of the so called "red chronicle" as the protagonist of a high-profile brawl. But his recordings and live performances at nightclubs in Havana overshadowed that licentious life, to turn it into a true idol of the crowds.

His interpretation of the bolero Dos Gardenias by Isolina Carrillo, accompanied by Sonora Matancera in an arrangement of Damaso Perez Prado—where it was incredibly included a bandoneon played by the Argentine Joaquín Mora—ascended him even more in 1947 to the highest peak of fame; the same that happened with Jesus Guerra’s guaracha Bigote de gata. Merino did not take long to include both songs in his repertoire, with the friendly indulgence of Daniel Santos. This helped him to enjoy also the fame the Puerto Rican already had.

I remember one night, during one of the Boleros de Oro festivals, Pepe Merino performed at Havana’s Karl Marx Theater elegantly dressed in a dark blue suit and a bow tie, black as his copious mustache. He sang two boleros, always rewarded with applauses, but when withdrawing from the stage, the audience began to ask for more. He had no choice but to return to the stage and explain that he was only assigned to songs, but people were not satisfied and wanted more and more. Then he said he would sing a cappella, as the orchestra lacked the arrangements for other parts. Then he sang and danced Bigote de gato, and that was tremendous. People stood yielding him to continue his performance. He came up with an idea to calm the public, and started singing.

Sierra Maestra

Glorious Mount of Cuba

Where Cubans who want to defend it

Struggle

The audience, stood up, chanting the song. When finished, Pepe Merino bowed and excitedly exclaimed: “Thank you Daniel, thank you very much teacher.” It was a happy ending and a heartfelt tribute to the creator of that song by Daniel Santos, which was written in moments that the Rebel Army fought for the liberation of Cuba.

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