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Pérez Prado, born on December 11, 1916, in Matanzas, Cuba, was a Cuban naturalized Mexican bandleader, singer, organist, pianist, and composer, often referred to as the "King of the Mambo." He studied classical piano in his early childhood and later played organ and piano in local clubs. Prado was the pianist and arranger for Cuba's best-known musical group and worked with casino orchestras in Havana throughout the 1940s, earning the nickname "El Cara de Foca" ("Seal Face"). In 1948, he moved to Mexico to form his own band and began recording for RCA Victor, specializing in mambos, an upbeat adaptation of the Cuban danzón. His song "Que rico el mambo" caught the attention of an arranger in 1950, who recorded it as "Mambo Jambo" in the United States, leading to a successful US tour for Prado in 1951. He began releasing records in the US for RCA Victor and composed famous pieces such as "Mambo No. 5" and "Mambo No. 8." At the peak of the mambo movement in 1955, Prado reached number one on the American charts with a cha-cha version of "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White." He passed away on September 14, 1989, in Mexico City, Mexico.

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