Fernando Alvarez. Santiago de Cuba, 1928. Singer. He started art at very early ages, performing in orchestras of popular music in his natal city. He worked also at Reinaldo Dambay´s, Pancho Portuondo´s and Mariano Mercerón´s Groups. Around the 50th decade`s first years, he moved to Havana to integrate the Giant Band of Benny Moré, where he remained up to the end of 1955 and alternated singing with the ocassional management of the group. Further more, he integrated Conjunto Casino conducted by Roberto Espí, where his popularity increased and made interpretative creations of diverse musical works, among them, Humo y Espuma bolero by Rolando Rabí. From this moment on, he became soloist and was hired by the Gema label, in which he recorded the song Ven aquí a la realidad, by Ernesto Duarte, that was a national and international success, at the same time , he became one of the most revered voices of his country.

He made many radio and television programs; numerous performances and tours to Hispanoamerica and United States, country where he reached a definite success, above all, within the Latinoamerican community. His trajectory as singer is remarkable due to his artistic and interpretative high quality and his selected repertoire and the master recreation of works as Dos Gardenias, by Isolina Carrillo; Vuélvete a mí, by Tania Castellanos; Nueva Vida, by Piloto-Vera union; Si tú quisieras, by Frank Domínguez, plus other musical compositions from Ignacio Villa, José Antonio Mendéz and Luis Yáñez.

Recording many long plays such as Otra Vez con Fernando, Nueva Vida and Refúgiate en mí; he has explored also the creational world with such works as bolero Ay Tristeza!. He is a well-known interpreter among all music composed around the decades of 50 and 60, going through a complete generation of Cuban composers. In his voice, many compositions of popular music creations, have became popular in Cuba and Latin America and his artistic career, which approaches song feeling and boleros, sums up a whole stage of Cuban Song.

He died on August 22, 2002.

Taken from Encyclopedic Dictionary of Hispanoamerican Music.

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