Puntillita was a member of the
Hermanos Licea in the 1940s in
Camagüey. He began singing with the
Orquesta Escorcia, and played percussion in the
Orquesta Tentación. In 1945 he went to Havana to sing in trumpeter
Julio Cueva's band. He got his nickname from
Son de la puntillita, which he sang with this band. He went on to achieve huge popularity in the 1950s as a soloist on
Radio Cadena Habana. In
Mexico City he performed at
El Patio, singing with
Celia Cruz and
Beny Moré. With the conjunto
Gloria Matancera he played at the
Cabaret Antillano. In the 1990s,
Juan de Marcos González approached Puntillita to join the
Afro-Cuban All Stars, which featured many musicians from Havana's pre-revolutionary era. He toured
Colombia and Europe with the group. Puntillita was also later asked by Gonzalez to appear with Ry Cooder in the Buena Vista Social Club. Puntillita sang with
Ibrahim Ferrer and guitarist
Eliades Ochoa on
Cuarto de Tula and sang lead on
La Bayamesa, the Cuban national anthem. The record won a
Grammy in 1998. He died in 2000, aged 79. ==See also==