Pedro Marcano (1902–1966), known to the world as “Piquito,” was one of the foremost Puerto Rican bandleaders, composers and vocalists during the 1930s and 40s in New York City. He is best remembered as the founder and director of the famed Cuarteto Marcano, which was among the most popular bands in those decades, along with those of Pedro Flores, Rafael Hernández, and Plácido Acevedo. Piquito also worked closely with other major musical figures of the period, including the premier vocalist Pedro Ortíz Dávila (“Davilita”), Noro Morales, Bobby Capó, Manuel Jiménez (“Canario”), Fausto Delgado, Lalo Martínez, Claudio Ferrer, and Tito Rodríguez. The composer of such popular songs as “Sin las mujeres,” “Angélica te llaman,” “Son tres (Las islas hermanas)” and “Mi cafetal,” Piquito also led the bands that performed the historic recordings of many of the best known songs of the great Rafael Hernández and Pedro Flores and others, including “Campanitas de cristal,” “Bembeteo no más,” “Cachita,” “Llora corazón” and “La batatita.” Piquito returned to Puerto Rico in the later 1940s, but visited New York frequently during the 1950s and took part in the jíbaro revival of those years along with the great Ramito, La Calandria, Chuito, Moralito and others. Piquito’s son, Gregorio Marcano (“Grego”), has dedicated himself to documenting his father’s long and illustrious career. The following contribution, which includes Grego’s text, photos and visual documentation, offers a sample of that ambitious project.
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City University of New York : Centro de Estudios Puertorriqueños (provided by DOAJ)
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