Guillermo Barreto: The Drum Legend Who Revolutionized Cuban Jazz

In Cuban music’s pantheon, certain names shine with their own light: Benny Moré, Bebo Valdés, Cachao. But behind each of them, keeping the pulse that made Havana dance, was Guillermo Barreto —the man who transformed Cuban drums into a jazz instrument without losing an ounce of sabor.

The Parrot of Tropicana

Born August 11, 1929, in Havana, Guillermo grew up in a family where music was the air they breathed. His father, Primo Barreto, was a clarinetist who taught music to all his children. But it was Guillermo who would find his voice in the drums.

Rita Montaner, the legendary Cuban singer, nicknamed him “El Loro” (The Parrot) for his constant chatter and peculiar walk. The name stuck, though history would know him simply as “Barretico” —a diminutive hiding a giant.

From Pailas to Bebop

By the 1940s, young Barreto had already mastered Cuban timbales when American music reached his ears. Inspired by bebop drummers like Max Roach and Roy Haynes, Barreto achieved something few Cuban musicians had: understanding and executing American swing with authenticity.

“Guillermo Barreto was one of the few Cuban drummers who understood the subtleties of playing jazz with an authentic American swing. In addition, he had a very special ear and, above all, an exquisite musical taste.” — Paquito D’Rivera

This fusion would prove revolutionary. Barreto didn’t imitate —he translated. He took American jazz language and made it speak Cuban.

The Tropicana Descargas

In the early 1950s, Barreto began organizing the Sunday descargas at the Tropicana Cabaret, the most legendary jam sessions in Cuban music. There, with his neighbor and friend Bebo Valdés at the piano, the future of Afro-Cuban jazz was being forged.

Barreto didn’t just play —he transcribed American music for his colleagues, explaining jazz concepts to musicians trained in different traditions. He was a bridge between two musical worlds.

In 1957, he participated in Cachao’s historic sessions that produced the “Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature” albums, considered the official birth of the recorded descarga.

The Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna

In 1958, alongside blind pianist Frank Emilio Flynn, Barreto founded the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna. The group would record their first LP in 1959 under the name Grupo Cubano de Música Moderna, establishing a new standard for jazz on the island.

The quintet would evolve in the 1980s into Los Amigos, a supergroup that kept the flame of Cuban jazz alive for decades.

An anecdote illustrates his caliber: when Stan Kenton’s orchestra visited Cuba and his star drummer Buddy Rich fell ill, Barreto substituted for one night. Playing at Buddy Rich’s level was no small feat.

The Legacy: Fiesta del Tambor

Guillermo Barreto died on December 14, 1991, two months after recording “Spirits of Havana” with Canadian flautist Jane Bunnett —his final contribution to a catalog spanning five decades.

But his legacy beats every March in Havana. His nephew Giraldo Piloto (director of the band Klímax and son of Josefina Barreto) founded the Fiesta del Tambor in 2000, a percussion festival featuring the international competition “Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam.”

Percussion in Cuba is a revered art. And Guillermo Barreto, the Parrot who never stopped speaking through his drums, remains its most eloquent prophet.

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His wife, singer Merceditas Valdés, muse of Afro-Cuban music, died on June 13, 1996. Together, they were one of the most influential couples in 20th-century Cuban music.