Richard Egües

Who was Richard Egües?

Richard Egües, nicknamed "la flauta mágica", was a Cuban flautist and musician, one of the country's most famous artists. Egües was a member of the Orquesta Aragón band which he joined in 1953. He was also a strong supporter of the Cuban Revolution. A few days before he died, Richard Egües stated "I would give my life for him", referring to the Cuban President Fidel Castro, who was very sick at the time.

Egües composed what are today classics of salsa, such as "Sabrosona", "Bombón cha", "Gladys", "El cerquillo", "El Cuini" and his most well-known song, "El bodeguero", which became part of Nat King Cole's repertoire.

Egües was born in the town of Cruces in the Cuban province of Las Villas on October 26, 1923. After learning to play sax, clarinet and piano, he decided to pick up the flute in the late '40s, in part, because flute players got to take more breaks during performances. Egues later came to be the foremost exponent of the charanga style of Cuban flute playing.

Charanga bands consist of vocals, percussion, strings and a flutist with the flute serving as a prominent and central voice.