The Trio Matamoros were one of the most popular Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

n trova

Trova

Trova is one of the great roots of the Cuban music tree. In the 19th century a group of itinerant musicians known as trovadores moved around Oriente, especially Santiago de Cuba, earning their living by singing and playing the guitar...

 groups. Formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba

Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....

, 8 May 1894 – 15 April 1971; guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

), Rafael Cueto (Santiago de Cuba, 14 March 1900 – 7 August 1991; guitar) and Siro Rodriguez (Santiago de Cuba, 9 December 1899 – Regla, 29 March 1981; maracas

Maracás

Maracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...

 and clave

Clave

The term clave may refer to* Clave , a rhythmic pattern found in some Afro-Cuban Music* Claves, a percussion instrument* Clave , a free weekly newspaper in Santo Domingo* Clavé, a village in France...

s). All three were singers and composers.

The Trio Matamoros played bolero

Bolero

Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...

s and son

Son (music)

The Son cubano is a style of music that originated in Cuba and gained worldwide popularity in the 1930s. Son combines the structure and elements of Spanish canción and the Spanish guitar with African rhythms and percussion instruments of Bantu and Arará origin...

. They toured all Latin America and Europe and recorded in New York. In 1940 Guillermo Portabales

Guillermo Portabales

Guillermo Portabales was a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist who popularized the guajira style of Cuban music from the 1930s through the 1960s...

 performed with the trio. Matamoros expanded the trio into a conjunto

Conjunto

Conjunto literally translates as "group," and is regionally accepted in Texas as defining a genre of music that was born out of south Texas at the end of the 19th Century, after German settlers introduced the button accordion. The bajo sexto has come to accompany the button accordion and is...

 for a trip to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and hired the young Beny Moré as singer from 1945 to 1947. They recorded many 78rpm records and LPs; some of their output is available on CDs. The group were renowned for the harmony of their voices, and the quality of the lyrics.

Matamoros was one of the greatest and most prolific composers of the Cuban son; his first hit was El que siembra su maiz (literally, he who sows his corn). Lágrimas negras (Black tears) and Mamá, son de la loma / y cantan en llano (Ma, they're from the hill, and they sing on the plain, meaning, they're from Oriente and they sing in Havana). The group, whose members stayed together for 35 years, disbanded in 1960.