{"id":4170,"date":"2025-06-28T13:46:25","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T17:46:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/?p=4170"},"modified":"2025-06-28T13:46:25","modified_gmt":"2025-06-28T17:46:25","slug":"simons-el-manisero-and-the-spark-of-everyday-genius","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/simons-el-manisero-and-the-spark-of-everyday-genius-28062025\/","title":{"rendered":"Simons, \u201cEl Manisero,\u201d and the Spark of Everyday Genius"},"content":{"rendered":"

It didn\u2019t emerge from deep contemplation, nor from the introspective musings of bards plumbing the depths of the creative spirit. When Mois\u00e9s Simons composed El Manisero<\/strong><\/em>, it took him very little time. The reason, according to one of the most well-known accounts, was a request by the legendary Rita Montaner, which the Cuban composer gladly accepted. From that commission would be born one of the most iconic pieces in the history of Cuban music. \u201cRita said that in just a ‘momentico’\u2014as he typically wrote all his music\u2014the inspired composer wove together a creole melody filled with sweet and enticing accents, full of irresistible charm,\u201d wrote essayist and researcher Rafael Lam.<\/p>\n

El Manisero<\/em> has been interpreted from New York to Paris. In Cuba, a particularly striking instrumental adaptation was arranged by Armando Romeu, featuring complex, virtuosic passages blending Afro-Cuban jazz and blues with the grandeur of big band style. It was premiered and recorded by the Orquesta Cubana de M\u00fasica Moderna. Simons\u2019s work would later extend to operettas and musical comedies, all marked by a deep linguistic and stylistic connection to Cuban rhythms and themes. Among his notable stage works are A una rosa<\/strong><\/em> and the comedy Ni\u00f1a Merc\u00e9<\/em>, premiered in Paris and Madrid respectively, as noted by journalist Oni Acosta, who considers Simons an essential figure in Cuban music and an unavoidable reference in Cuban cultural heritage.<\/p>\n

Born on August 24, 1889, Mois\u00e9s Sim\u00f3n Rodr\u00edguez was introduced to music at a young age, encouraged by his father. By age 14, he could already play multiple instruments, had led children\u2019s theater troupes at Havana\u2019s Teatro Mart\u00ed, and studied under several prominent teachers who shaped his development as a composer. These included Jos\u00e9 Mauri (counterpoint), and Fernando Carnicer, Felipe Patau, and Ignacio Teller\u00eda (composition).<\/p>\n

Though El Manisero<\/strong><\/em> catapulted him to fame, Simons had already built a solid career performing and arranging with various ensembles. He worked as an organist, conductor, and orchestrator, performing in many of Cuba\u2019s most prestigious venues\u2014including the National Theatre\u2014and touring the Caribbean and Central America.<\/p>\n

In the 1930s, Simons embarked on a European tour, performing in Spain and France. His crowning achievement came in France with the premiere of his operetta Toi c\u2019est moi<\/strong><\/em> on October 18, 1934, at the Th\u00e9\u00e0tre des Bouffes-Parisiens, one of Europe\u2019s premier venues for light opera. Written in collaboration with novelist Henri Duvernois, the production featured prominent French performers and marked a pivotal moment in Simons\u2019s career and musical maturity.<\/p>\n

Two years later, the Cuban maestro premiered Le chant des tropiques<\/strong><\/em> in Paris. The cast included soprano H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Regelli, Jean Sablon, Roger Bourdin of the Paris Grand Opera, and Cuban singer Antonio Mach\u00edn, who performed El Manisero<\/strong><\/em>. That production also featured the song Cubanac\u00e1n<\/strong><\/em>, later recorded by stars like Tino Rossi, Jean Sablon, Georges Till, and Raquel Meller.<\/p>\n

After the Nazi occupation of France during World War II, Simons moved around the French countryside before relocating to Madrid. There, he composed the score for the film Bamb\u00fa<\/strong><\/em>, including the song Hoy como ayer<\/strong><\/em>, performed by stars such as Imperio Argentina and Celia G\u00e1mez. In 1944, he premiered Toi c\u2019est moi<\/em> in Spanish, with a translated libretto by Federico Shaw.<\/p>\n

When Mois\u00e9s Simons passed away on June 28, 1945, he left behind a significant body of work. In addition to his most famous compositions, his catalogue includes Deuda de Amor<\/em>, an operetta with a libretto by Ferm\u00edn Samper premiered in 1913 at Havana\u2019s Teatro Albisu; La Negra Quirina<\/em>, a 1914 revue; El Pescador de Corales<\/em>; the two-act revue El Hilo de la Vida<\/em>; La Cueva de los Mochuelos<\/em>; and Ni\u00f1a Merc\u00e9<\/em>, staged at Madrid\u2019s Teatro Calder\u00f3n in 1931, among others, as detailed by researcher Mirna Guerra.<\/p>\n

Several of his works were adapted for the silver screen in films such as I Like You Never<\/strong><\/em>, The Big Idea<\/strong><\/em>, The Cuban Love Song<\/strong><\/em>, Bosko\u2019s Knight-Mare<\/strong><\/em>, Here Comes the Band<\/strong><\/em>., Toi c\u2019est moi<\/strong><\/em>, Twenty Million Sweethearts<\/strong><\/em>, Romance del Palmar<\/strong><\/em>, Lumi\u00e8res de Paris<\/strong><\/em>, and Sucedi\u00f3 en La Habana<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez<\/p>\n

Photo: Radio Cadena Habana on YouTube<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Mois\u00e9s Simons passed away on June 28, 1945, he left behind a significant body of work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[954],"ppma_author":[14],"class_list":["post-4170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-cuba","tag-moises-simons"],"authors":[{"term_id":14,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"lazaro-hernandez-rey","display_name":"L\u00e1zaro Hern\u00e1ndez Rey","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4170"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4172,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4170\/revisions\/4172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4170"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4170"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4170"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.radioenciclopedia.cu\/cultural-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4170"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}