Tata Güines, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Tata Güines

Cuban musician

Date of Birth: 30-Jun-1930

Place of Birth: Güines, Cuba

Date of Death: 04-Feb-2008

Profession: composer, percussionist, jazz musician

Nationality: Cuba

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Federico Arístides Soto Alejo (June 30, 1930 – February 4, 2008), better known as Tata Güines, was a Cuban percussionist, bandleader and arranger.
He was widely regarded as a master of the conga drum, and alongside Carlos "Patato" Valdés, influential in the development of contemporary Afro-Cuban music, including Afro-Cuban jazz.
He specialized in a form of improvisation known as descarga, a format in which he recorded numerous albums throughout the years with Cachao, Frank Emilio Flynn, Estrellas de Areito, Alfredo Rodríguez and Jane Bunnett, among others.
In the 1990s he released two critically acclaimed albums as a leader: Pasaporte and Aniversario.
His composition "Pa' gozar" has become a standard of the descarga genre.