Puchito Records was Cuba's second independent record label. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Gorís, became instant hits.
80-519: The founder, Jesús Gorís (né Jesús Ramon Francisco Gorís Ballas; 12 April 1921 Havana, Cuba – 16 Aug 2006 Miami, Florida ) had been a representative of RCA Victor , selling records from a separate counter at his father's hardware store, La Estrella. Eventually, the store became known as Gorís Shop. Back then, stores were restricted to sell records from just one label. At La Estrella, they were supposed to sell only RCA Records, but Gorís, he would sell you Columbia and Decca recordings he kept hidden under
160-679: A bolero composed by Chamaco Domínguez ( es ) (1921–1985), was one of the album's great successes. Puchito went on to produce Guillot on nine more albums, and a few singles, up until 1960. In 1958, Gorís hired pianist René Touzet (1916–2003) as musical director and orchestrator of Guillot's album, Intemidades (MLP-526), which gained reputation as having the most important works of her career, and several that cemented Touzet's reputation as an original composer: "La Noche de Anoche" ("The Night Last Night"), "Será Cuando Tú Quieras," "Estuve Pensando," and "No Te Importe Saber" ("Let Me Love You Tonight"). Guillot and Touzet , though never married, had
240-516: A tropical climate . In 1514, Diego Velázquez founded the city San Cristóbal de la Habana, which meant " Saint Christopher of the Habana". Habana was the name of the local people group. It has been theorized that the name derived from Habaguanex , who was a chief of the Native American tribe. His name is Taíno , an Arawakan language , but nothing else is known. When Habana was adapted into English,
320-657: A tropical monsoon climate ( Am ). Average temperatures range from 22 °C (72 °F) in January and February to 28 °C (82 °F) in August. The temperature seldom drops below 10 °C (50 °F). The lowest temperature was 1 °C (34 °F) in Santiago de Las Vegas, Boyeros. The lowest recorded temperature in Cuba was 0 °C (32 °F) in Bainoa, Mayabeque Province (before 2011
400-734: A British invasion of 30,000 sailors. Construction began on what was to become the Fortress of San Carlos de la Cabaña , the third biggest Spanish fortification in the New World after Castillo San Cristóbal (the biggest) and Castillo San Felipe del Morro both in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On 15 January 1796, the remains of Christopher Columbus were transported to the island from Santo Domingo . They rested there until 1898, when they were transferred to Seville's Cathedral , after Spain's loss of Cuba. As trade between Caribbean and North American states increased in
480-567: A color, and a type of rabbit as well as the city. Havana is the prevailing name for the city found in English-language dictionaries. Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded Havana in 1514, on the southern coast of the island, near the present town of Surgidero de Batabanó on the banks of the Mayabeque River close to Playa Mayabeque . However, all attempts to found a city on Cuba's south coast failed; an early map of Cuba drawn in 1514 places
560-660: A daughter together: Olga María Touzet-Guillot (born 1960). With the support of Benny Moré , Gorís spearheaded the rediscovery of a major sonero artist from the 1920s, Abelardo Barroso , who, back then, had sung with Sexteto Habanero . Gorís curated and, through Puchito, republished old photographs and produced Barroso with the Orquesta Sensación. In early July 1955, Barroso recorded a single, " La hija de Juan Simón " and "En Guantánamo" (Puchito 224, 78 rpm & 45 rpm ), his first recording in over fifteen years, and apart from his solitary single in 1939, his first in over
640-418: A distributing company that sold to retail stores and serviced their racks . Sometime around 1955, Puchito Records became a subsidiary of Montilla Records , which was owned by Fernando Montilla (né Fernando José Montilla Ambrosiani; 1915–2014) and, from 1955 to 1959, managed by Harry Sultan (1904–1971), who, from about 1931 to about 1967, was owner of Sultan's Record Shop at 26, then 38 East 23rd Street , in
720-676: A number of custom labels. Their labels, Aro, Funny, Regio, and Suave are distributed all over the U.S. and Puerto Rico and for the most part are licensed works from Latin America. But, they also produced and recorded local artists, including The Antiques, Alexis Fari, Miriam (aka Myriam) and the Sons of Paraguay. Armada & Rodriquez distributed Gema throughout the U.S., and they owned their own distributing organization in New York and Antilla. They sold only to distributors, not to retail stores, but also owned
800-608: A part of its purchase of Musart. Within Concord, Panart is operated as an imprint of the historical reissue label Craft Recordings . After studying music, joining the army and obtaining a degree in engineering, Ramón Sabat began working in several music labels in New York City . In 1943, the label he was working in, Musicraft , folded, and he decided to bring the necessary assets to Cuba to fulfill his desire of establishing his own Cuban-based record company. Thus in 1944 Sabat became
880-632: A partner, Giuseppe Pucci Storniolo (1929–1993), launched Puchito Record Mfg. Co. Inc. in 1963 as a Florida entity, initially located at 480 East 28 Street, Hialeah . Puchito Record Mfg. Co. produced the recordings that Gorís brought with him from Cuba . After a period of time, the new Puchito released those recordings on its newly created budget label, Adria. The new Puchito also started to distribute its newly created Krystal label. Gorís and his wife, Georgina Rita Gorís (1927–2012), became naturalized United States citizens on April 12, 1968. Jesús Gorís married Georgina around 1945, and remained married to her for
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#1732875894418960-655: A plan by the Knights of the Golden Circle to create a 'Golden Circle' with a 1200 mile-radius centered on Havana. After the Confederate States of America were defeated in the American Civil War in 1865, many former slaveholders continued to run plantations by moving to Havana. In 1863, the city walls were knocked down so that the metropolis could be enlarged. At the end of the 19th century, Havana witnessed
1040-578: A portion of the candidates is nominated at the local level. The People's Councils (Consejos Populares) consist of local city delegates who elect a full-time representative to preside over the body. These councils are directly responsible for the city's neighbourhoods and wards. In addition, there is involvement of "mass organizations" and representatives of local government agencies, industries and services. The 105 People's Councils in Havana cover an average of 20,000 residents. Havana city borders are contiguous with
1120-486: A private studio at Calle 10 n.52 in the Vedado district of Havana . And for many years, Puchito recorded at Cuban Plastics & Record Corporation at San Miguel 410, between Campanario and Lealtad in Havana, with the factory outside of the city. San Miguel 410 was the home of Panart , founded and owned by Ramón S. Sabat and his wife, Julia, both also founders of Cuban Plastics and Record Corporation. On May 29, 1961, during
1200-708: A problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs. The middle class, which was comparable to that of the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end. Batista stayed in power until he was forced into exile in December 1958. After the revolution of 1959 , the new government under Fidel Castro began to improve social services, public housing, and official buildings. Nevertheless, after Castro's abrupt expropriation of all private property and industry (May 1959 onwards) under
1280-449: A quarter century. Rolando Valdés, founder of Orquesta Sensación, selected the songs for the session , both from Barroso's radio hits of the 1930s. The release became one of the greatest double-sided hits in the history of popular music. It became a Gold Record in 1956. In 1956, Puchito released 5 more singles featuring Barroso and Orquesta Sensación. For the rest of the 1950s, Gorís produced several other highly successful records on
1360-578: A strong communist model backed by the Soviet Union followed by the U.S. embargo , shortages that affected Cuba in general hit Havana especially hard. By 1966–68, the Cuban government had nationalized all privately owned business entities in Cuba, down to "certain kinds of small retail forms of commerce" as per law No. 1076. An economic downturn occurred after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Soviet subsidies ended, representing billions of dollars which
1440-672: A year after Havana was seized, the Peace of Paris was signed by the three warring powers thus ending the Seven Years' War. The treaty gave Britain Florida in exchange for the return of the city of Havana on to Spain. After regaining the city, the Spanish transformed Havana into the most heavily fortified city in the Americas like Cartagena, Colombia a city that under the leadership of Blas de Lezo defeated
1520-549: Is Reinaldo García Zapata of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the third-highest income in the country. Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana , Vedado and the newer suburban districts. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay , which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Antares . The Almendares River traverses
1600-486: Is San Cristóbal ( Saint Christopher ), to whom the cathedral is devoted. it also has a minor basilica , Basílica Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre and two other national shrines, Jesús Nazareno del Rescate and San Lázaro (El Rincón). It received papal visits from three successive supreme pontiffs: Pope John Paul II (January 1998), Pope Benedict XVI (March 2012) and Pope Francis (September 2015). The Jewish community in Havana has reduced after
1680-478: Is a hybrid of all 3 put together. In February 2007 the New York Times estimated that there were about 1,500 known Jews living in Havana. Havana has a diversified economy, with traditional sectors, such as manufacturing, construction, transportation and communications, and new or revived ones such as biotechnology and tourism. The city's economy first developed on the basis of its location, which made it one of
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#17328758944181760-509: Is a population of internal migrants to Havana nicknamed "palestinos" (Palestinians) (sometimes considered a racist term ) who mostly hail from the eastern region of Oriente . The city's significant minority of Chinese, mostly of Cantonese origin, were brought in the mid-19th century by Spanish settlers via the Philippines with work contracts and after completing 8-year contracts many Chinese immigrants settled permanently in Havana. Before
1840-567: Is a population of several thousand North African teen and pre-teen refugees. Between 2018, the most recent census, and the mid-Twentieth Century census of 1953, Havana's population has grown by an estimated 87 percent, a growth rate typical of most Latin American cities. Roman Catholics form the largest religious group in Havana. Havana is one of the three Metropolitan sees on the island (the others being Camagüey and Santiago), with two suffragan bishoprics: Matanzas and Pinar del Río. Its patron saint
1920-418: Is centered elsewhere on the island and controls some three-fourths of the export economy. But light manufacturing facilities, meat-packing plants, and chemical and pharmaceutical operations are concentrated in Havana. Other food-processing industries are also important, along with shipbuilding, vehicle manufacturing, production of alcoholic beverages (particularly rum), textiles, and tobacco products, particularly
2000-466: Is dependent upon the national government, particularly, for much of its budgetary and overall political direction. Voters elect delegates to Municipal Assemblies in competitive elections every five years, and the Municipal Assemblies are responsible for each of the city's boroughs. These assemblies elect the borough presidents and vice presidents, which are equivalents to mayors and vice mayors in
2080-532: Is frequently mentioned as the first independent record label in Cuba, a small label called Star was established a few years prior, recording four songs by the Septeto Nacional in 1940. In 1949, Panart launched Sonoro, a sublabel dedicated to traditional folk music (mainly son in the trova style), including Trío Servando Díaz , Trío Caney, Los Incógnitos, Los Compadres and Compay Segundo in its initial roster. In 1952, Panart obtained exclusive rights for
2160-427: Is similar to a developed country, with Havana having an even higher proportion of elderly than the country as a whole. According to the 2012 national census of Havana's population (the Cuban census and similar studies use the term "skin color" instead of "race"). As with the other Caribbean nations, there are few mestizos in Havana (and Cuba as a whole), in contrast to many other Latin American countries, because
2240-533: Is the capital and largest city of Cuba . The heart of the La Habana Province , Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. It is the most populous city, the largest by area, and the second largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. The population in 2012 was 2,154,454 inhabitants, and its area is 728.26 km (281.18 sq mi) for the capital city side and 8,475.57 km for
2320-565: Is the hill to the west that is occupied by the University of Havana and the Castillo del Príncipe (Havana) . Havana has a tropical climate that is tempered by the island's position in the belt of the trade winds and by the warm offshore currents. Under the Köppen climate classification , Havana has a tropical savanna climate ( Aw ) that closely borders on a tropical rainforest climate ( Af ) and
2400-456: The Casa de Contratación of Seville (the crown-controlled trading house that held a monopoly on New World trade). Ships from all over the New World carried products first to Havana, to be taken by the fleet to Spain. The thousands of ships gathered in the city's bay also fueled Havana's agriculture and manufacture, since they had to be supplied with food, water, and other products needed to traverse
2480-462: The ⟨b⟩ was switched to a ⟨v⟩ because of a linguistic phenomenon known as betacism , which is an assimilation of the voiced bilabial plosive and voiced labiodental fricative sounds that occurs in most modern Spanish dialects. Usage of the word Havana in literature understandably peaked during the Spanish–American War , but it also represents a type of cigar,
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2560-594: The Cuban Revolution , Cuban culture, including the record industry, was to be nationalized. Most Cuban record companies either folded or quickly relocated to Florida or Puerto Rico . Panart's fate was somewhat different, on May 29, 1961, its studios and factory were seized by the government. By that time, Ramón and Julia Sabat were already in the US. For a short period of time, until 1962, Panart's records were sold as "Panart Nacionalizada" to reflect this. Between 1962 and 1964,
2640-547: The Flatiron District of Manhattan , New York . In 1956, Montilla Records, set-up in a distributorship in his shop on 23rd Street to expand distribution of Puchito Records coast-to-coast. Armada & Rodriguez of Florida, Inc. , Miami, Florida (founded July 22, 1968 — dissolved September 24, 1999) Personnel Antilla Records, Inc. , Bronx, New York (founded on October 31, 1985, as a New York entity, and dissolved June 24, 1992) Toreador Records were manufactured in
2720-577: The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana , a new 5-star hotel attempting to develop a new hospitality industry. In Old Havana, a number of streets and squares have been rehabilitated in an effort to rebuild for tourists. But Old Havana is a large city, and the restoration efforts concentrate in all on less than 10% of its area. On the night of 27 January 2019, an unusually violent and destructive tornado ripped through Havana. The tornado killed eight people and injured over 190. It
2800-789: The Mayabeque Province on the south and east and to Artemisa Province on the west, since former La Habana Province (rural) was abolished in 2010. Havana lies on the northern coast of Cuba along the Straits of Florida , south of the Florida Keys , where the Gulf of Mexico joins the Atlantic Ocean. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa, and Atarés. The Almendares River traverses
2880-521: The Seven Years' War . The episode began on 6 June 1762, when at dawn, a British fleet, comprising more than 50 ships and a combined force of over 11,000 men of the Royal Navy and Army, sailed into Cuban waters and made an amphibious landing east of Havana. The British immediately opened up trade with their North American and Caribbean colonies , causing a rapid transformation of Cuban society. Less than
2960-552: The hospital de San Lázaro , the monastery of Santa Teresa and the convent of San Felipe Neri were completed in this era. In 1649 a fatal epidemic, brought from Cartagena in Colombia, affected a third of the population of Havana. In 1674, the works for the City Walls were started, as part of the fortification efforts. They would be completed by 1740. By the middle of the 18th century Havana had more than seventy thousand inhabitants, and
3040-451: The 1943 census. The con-urbanization expanded over the Havana municipality borders into neighbor municipalities of Marianao, Regla and Guanabacoa. Starting from the 1980s, the city's population is growing slowly as a result of balanced development policies, low birth rate, its relatively high rate of emigration abroad, and controlled domestic migration. Because of the city and country's low birth rate and high life expectancy, its age structure
3120-597: The Imprenta Nacional the Cuba acted as the only legal Cuban label. In 1964, the EGREM "trumpet" logo began to be used in stickers put over the Panart logo of previously released albums, and by the time Areito was founded as EGREM's main imprint in Panart's former facilities, Panart had disappeared from Cuban record stores. Thanks to Julia Sabat, who sent the master copies from Havana to New York, around 80% of Panart's catalogue
3200-747: The Provincial Council (until 2019 the Provincial Assembly), which in Havana serves roughly as the City Council; its president appoints the Governor and Vice Governor, who serve as the Mayor and Vice Mayor of Havana and can be either elected by the council or appointed by the president with council confirmation. There are direct elections for the city's deputies to the National Assembly based on slates, and
3280-510: The Puchito label. He produced Chapottin y sus Estrellas on with singer Miguelito Cuní ( es ) (1917–1984), the Orquesta Riverside with singer Tito Gomez (1920–2000) and Roberto Faz (1914–1966) and his conjunto for the label. Puchito manufactured its discs at Panart 's factory. At some point, Puchito recorded in the studios of Radio Progreso , built in 1950. Puchito also recorded in
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3360-467: The Revolution from once having embraced more than 15,000 Jews, many of whom had fled Nazi persecution and subsequently left Cuba to Miami or to Israel after Castro took to power in 1959. The city once had five synagogues, but only three remain (one Orthodox , and two Conservative : one Conservative Ashkenazi and one Conservative Sephardic ), Beth Shalom Grand Synagogue is one of them and another that
3440-506: The Soviet Union had given the Cuban government . Many believed the revolutionary government would soon collapse, as happened to the Soviet satellite states of Eastern Europe. After many years of economic struggle and prohibition, the socialist government has turned to tourism for revenue and has brought foreign investors to remodel the nationalized, former Manzana de Gomez building, and turn it into
3520-625: The U.S. Talía Industria Manufacturera De Disco S.A. , based in Lima , produced, manufactured, and distributed Puchito Records. Dardo Recording Corp. ( Dardo Recordings ), based in Hialeah, Florida , manufactured and distributed Puchito Records under the Dardo Recordings label. Individual artists Groups Record Distributors Havana, Cuba Havana ( / h ə ˈ v æ n ə / ; Spanish : La Habana [la aˈβana] )
3600-412: The city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. The city attracts over a million tourists annually; (1,176,627 international tourists in 2010, a 20% increase from 2005). Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also noted for its history , culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences
3680-477: The city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay. There are low hills on which the city lies rise gently from the waters of the straits. A noteworthy elevation is the 200-foot-high (60-meter) limestone ridge that slopes up from the east and culminates in the heights of La Cabaña and El Morro , the sites of Spanish fortifications overlooking the eastern bay. Another notable rise
3760-563: The city was by the French corsair Jacques de Sores in 1555. Such attacks convinced the Spanish Crown to fund the construction of the first fortresses in the main cities – not only to counteract the pirates and corsairs, but also to exert more control over commerce with the West Indies, and to limit the extensive contrabando ( black market ) that had arisen due to the trade restrictions imposed by
3840-592: The counter. I guess that secret can now be told. In 1952, Gorís invested in a single, " Guantanamera ", composed by Joseíto Fernández , which did well in jukeboxes. Gorís and two partners, Messrs. Alfredo Beltrán and Oliva, originally wanted to launch a series of children's records, so they chose the name Puchito, which, in this context, means "youngest child." In 1954, Gorís and his two partners produced an LP of Olga Guillot singing with The Castro Brothers Orchestra, one of Cuba's first jazz bands (no relation to Fidel Castro ). Although Guillot . "Mienteme" ("Lie to Me"),
3920-461: The country's highest incomes and human development indicators. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba re-emphasized tourism as a major industry leading to its recovery. Tourism is now Havana and Cuba's primary economic source. Havana's economy is still in flux, despite Raúl Castro's embrace of free enterprise in 2011. Though there was an uptick in small businesses in 2011, many have since gone out of business, due to lack of business and income on
4000-532: The early 19th century, Havana became a flourishing and fashionable city. Havana's theaters featured the most distinguished actors of the age, and prosperity among the burgeoning middle-class led to expensive new classical mansions being erected. During this period Havana became known as the Paris of the Antilles . In 1837, the first railroad was constructed, a 51 km (32 mi) stretch between Havana and Bejucal , which
4080-452: The early great trade centers in the New World. Sugar and a flourishing slave trade first brought riches to the city, and later, after independence, it became a renowned resort. Despite efforts by Fidel Castro's government to spread Cuba's industrial activity to all parts of the island, Havana remains the center of much of the nation's industry. The traditional sugar industry, upon which the island's economy has been based for three centuries,
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#17328758944184160-513: The eastern part of Havana province). Rainfall is heaviest in June and October and lightest from December through April, averaging 1,200 mm (47 in) annually. Hurricanes occasionally strike the island, but they ordinarily hit the south coast, and damage in Havana has been less than elsewhere in the country. The most recent tropical cyclone to come near Havana at hurricane strength was Ian in 2022. Tornadoes can be somewhat rare in Cuba, however, on
4240-448: The end of 2012 official Census, 19.1% of the population of Cuba lived in Havana. According to the census of 2012, the population was 2,106,146. The city has an average life expectancy of 76.81 years at birth. In 2009, there were 1,924 people living with HIV/AIDS in the city, 78.9% of these are men, and 21.1% being women. Havana agglomeration grew rapidly during the first half of the 20th century reaching 1 million inhabitants in
4320-482: The evening of 28 January 2019, a very rare strong EF4 tornado struck the eastern side of Havana . The tornado caused extensive damage, destroying at least 90 homes, killing four people and injuring 195. By 4 February the death toll had increased to six, with 11 people still in critical condition. The table lists temperature averages: The city is divided into 15 municipalities – or boroughs , which are further subdivided into 105 consejos populares (wards) By
4400-450: The final moments of Spanish presence in the Americas. The sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana's harbor in 1898 was the immediate cause of the Spanish–American War . Cuba's first presidential period under Tomás Estrada Palma from 1902 to 1906 was considered to uphold the highest standards of administrative integrity in the history of the Republic of Cuba. While Cuba had
4480-582: The former Panart studios in Havana), Palma (for international distribution) and Siboney (for recordings made in Santiago de Cuba). In 1961, two years after the end of the Cuban Revolution , Gorís went into exile, immigrating to Miami, Florida , and was lawfully admitted in the United States for permanent residence on October 20, 1962. He began working at a 7-Eleven , then became a top salesman for Equitable Life Insurance in Miami. While working in insurance, Gorís, with
4560-504: The founder and president of the Cuban Plastics & Record Corporation . According to Irais Huerta Rubio, the majority stockholder of the company was a Cuban electric company controlled by an American holding company . In 1945, the company sold the whole of its shares to Sabat, becoming the sole owner of the company and launching it under the name Panart (sometimes stylized Pan-Art, short for Panamerican Art). His wife, Julia Sabat, became
4640-583: The highest ratio of hospital beds to population in Latin America, around 80% of these beds were located in the city of Havana, there was only one rural hospital and it was equipped with only 10 beds. In July 1940, during World War II , the Havana Conference was held and 21 American nations, including the host country Cuba, agreed to govern their own territories that were occupied by the Axis powers . In 1958, Cuba
4720-421: The indigenous Taíno population was virtually wiped out by Eurasian diseases in the earliest period of the Spanish conquest. The Cuban government controls the movement of people into Havana on the grounds that the Havana metropolitan area (home to nearly 20% of the country's population) is overstretched in terms of land use, water, electricity, transportation, and other elements of the urban infrastructure. There
4800-469: The main recording studios in Cuba during the 1950s. Since the 1960s, they are known as the Areito studios, owned by EGREM. In addition, Panart acted as a distributor for Odeon , Musart , Sonora and Capitol Records . Its only sublabel, Sonoro , was established in 1949 and signed several trova acts such as Los Compadres . In 2016, Panart was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music (renamed Concord in 2019) as
4880-537: The metropolitan zone. Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas , becoming a stopping point for Spanish galleons returning to Spain. Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of capital in 1607. Walls and forts were built to protect the city. The city is the seat of the Cuban government and various ministries, and headquarters of businesses and over 100 diplomatic offices. The governor
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#17328758944184960-571: The most abundant materials of the island, mainly wood, combining various Iberian architectural styles, as well as borrowing profusely from Canarian characteristics. During this period the city also built civic monuments and religious constructions. The convent of St Augustin, El Morro Castle, the chapel of the Humilladero, the fountain of Dorotea de la Luna in La Chorrera, the church of the Holy Angel,
5040-462: The ocean. On 20 December 1592, King Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of City. Later on, the city would be officially designated as "Key to the New World and Rampart of the West Indies" by the Spanish Crown . In the meantime, efforts to build or improve the defensive infrastructures of the city continued. Havana expanded greatly in the 17th century. New buildings were constructed from
5120-468: The other provinces. There is only one political party, the Communist Party , but since there must be a minimum of two candidates, members of the Communist Party often run against each other. Candidates are not required to be members of the party. They are nominated directly by citizens in open meetings within each election district. Municipal Assembly delegates within the boroughs in turn elect members of
5200-451: The part of the local residents, whose salaries average $ 20 per month. Panart Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat . In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro 's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacionalizada", which shortly after was absorbed by EGREM . Together with RCA Victor 's, Panart studios were
5280-415: The pressing of music licensed by Decca . A few years later this contract was broken as Decca reached an agreement with EMI / Capitol . The expansion of the record label was nonetheless unprecedented for a Caribbean label. After establishing a subsidiary (Panart Recording Corporation) in New York in 1952, the same year it pressed its first LPs, Panart was pressing half a million records a year, 20% of which
5360-635: The process of enterprise nationalization started by the Revolutionary Government, the assets and management of several record companies were assumed by the Imprenta Nacional de Cuba (INC) (National Press of Cuba), an arts overseer created March 31, 1961. Companies included in the seizure included Puchito and Panart . Imprenta Nacional de Cuba acted as the only legal Cuban label until 1964. In 1964, EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) became Cuba's national label. EGREM operated several imprints including Areito (for recordings made in
5440-620: The record business together in Cuba, remain together when they arrived in New York in 1964. They recorded and distributed Puchito Records and set up racks in New York and New Jersey. Fellow Cubans brought them to Miami in 1968, where they purchased the bankrupt Puchito label at an auction, picked up some other labels, and started a distributing business. In 1972 they opened a manufacturing plant —Armada and Rodriguez of Florida, Inc.— where they pressed LP's and 45's for their own labels: Gema Records, Velvet Records Inc., Continental Records, Aro Records, Funny Records, Regio Records, and Suave Records, and
5520-466: The rest of his life. The company remained active until 1971. It somehow operated afterwards from the US, but seemed to have continued also in Cuba for a while after the revolution. Puchito Mfg. Co. Inc. (1969) J. & G. Recordings was a United States trademark of Puchito Record Mfg. Co. Inc., based in Hialeah, Florida . The trademark was active ten years, from April 25, 1967, to April 25, 1977. José Armada Sr. and Vicente Rodríguez, who had been in
5600-551: The revolution the Chinese population counted to over 200,000, today, Chinese ancestors could count up to 100,000. Chinese born/ native Chinese (mostly Cantonese as well) are around 400 presently. There are some 3,000 Russians living in the city; as reported by the Russian Embassy in Havana, most are women married to Cubans who had studied in the Soviet Union. Havana also shelters other non-Cuban population of an unknown size. There
5680-434: The sixth town founded by the Spanish on Cuba – its name: San Cristóbal de la Habana . The name combines San Cristóbal , patron saint of Havana. Shortly after the founding of Cuba's first cities, the island served as little more than a base for the Conquista of other lands. Havana began as a trading port, and suffered regular attacks by buccaneers , pirates, and French corsairs . The first attack and resultant burning of
5760-741: The town at the mouth of the river. Between 1514 and 1519 the Spanish established two settlements on the north coast, one of them in La Chorrera , around the site of the Torreón de la Chorrera , what eventually became the neighborhoods of Vedado and Miramar, next to the mouth of the Almendares River . The town that became Havana originated adjacent to what was then called Puerto de Carenas (literally, " Careening Port"), in 1519. The quality of this natural bay, which now hosts Havana's harbor, warranted this change of location. Pánfilo de Narváez gave Havana –
5840-635: The vice-president, and millionaire Enrique Gorrín became its treasurer. The company's headquarters and recording studios were at San Miguel 410, between Campanario and Lealtad, in Havana, while the pressing plant was located outside of the city. The first record released by Panart (cat. no. 1001) was a 10" single by Cascarita with the Julio Cueva Orchestra ("Ampárame" / "En el ñongo"). Eight more singles were released in 1944 and 83 in 1945, starting with Orquesta Hermanos Castro "Cucha el eco del tambó" / "Toda una vida" (cat. no. 1010). Although Panart
5920-474: The world-famous Habanos cigars. Although the harbors of Cienfuegos and Matanzas , in particular, have been developed under the revolutionary government, Havana remains Cuba's primary port facility; 50% of Cuban imports and exports pass through Havana. The port also supports a considerable fishing industry. In 2000, nearly 89% of the city's officially recorded labor force worked for government-run agencies, institutions or enterprises. Havana, on average, has
6000-714: Was "saved" before the government took over the company. Julia and her daughters then left Havana shortly after the Revolution, while Ramón remained in Cuba in charge of the company. Finally, in 1961, they managed to get Ramón out of Cuba. He and his wife established themselves in Miami. Julia started working in a record factory in Hialeah with Ramón's brother, Galo. Together they issued 1950s recordings made in Cuba on various imprints, including Adria Records and Puchito Records, all manufactured in Hialeah. Besides having to compete with major American record labels, primarily RCA Victor (or its subsidiary, Discuba , between 1959 and 1961), and to
6080-484: Was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards. On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities. Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems. Unemployment became
6160-574: Was assigned an official rating of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale by the Cuban Meteorology Institute, making this the first F4 or EF4 tornado in Cuba since 1940. The governor is Reinaldo García Zapata , he was elected on 18 January 2020. The city is administered by a city-provincial council, with a governor as chief administrative officer, thus Havana functions as both a city and a province of Cuba. The city has little autonomy and
6240-409: Was exported outside of Cuba (over 50% by 1959). Its dominance over the jukebox business in Cuba and the strategic (geographical) advantage over its main competitor, RCA Victor, explain part of Panart's success. Moreover, Panart was able to secure contracts with some of the most popular and innovative musicians and groups in the country, from Conjunto Casino to Julio Gutiérrez and Cachao . After
6320-455: Was the third-largest city in the Americas, ranking behind Lima and Mexico City but ahead of Boston and New York City. During the 18th century Havana was the most important of the Spanish ports because it had facilities where ships could be refitted and, by 1740, it had become Spain's largest and most active shipyard and only drydock in the New World. The city was captured by the British during
6400-507: Was used for transporting sugar from the valley of Güines to the harbor. With this, Cuba became the fifth country in the world to have a railroad, and the first Spanish-speaking country. Throughout the century, Havana was enriched by the construction of additional cultural facilities, such as the Tacón Theatre , one of the most luxurious in the world. The fact that slavery was legal in Cuba until 1886 led to Southern American interest, including
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