When the legendary Chano Pozo was shakin’ up the bars in the Marianao area with his music and other drummers were lavishing fame to Los Pocitos neighbourhood, regarding it as the cradle of of the top drummers, the Abreu brothers were emerging to the scene in that section of Havana. They learned playing on little tin cans, later on little candle boxes, large wooden cod boxes and tablespoons and then finally on tumbas, tumbadoras, tres golpes, quintos and claves.
The youthful brothers Ricardo, Luis, Alfredo and Jesús began their careers accompanying orchestras, working in cabarets, and conducting fellow percussionists in shows in nightclubs such as Tropicana and the Parisien.
In the 1950’s, Ricardo formed his own group: “Papin y sus Rumberosâ€, with two of his brothers and in 1962 created the vocal and percussion quartet "Los Papines" playing rumba as their fundamental musical expression (Guanguanco, Columbia, Yambú, Jiribilla). They also included in their repertoire other rhythms such as the Conga, the Son and the captivating Bolero.
They received vocal performance lessons from Luis Carbonell, the so called ‘watercolourist of the West Indian Poetry.
Few Latin American musicians have conquered the world, but the five continents have been unable to resist the moving call of their ‘skin to skin’ drum beats and songs performed in their own inimitable way.
Los Papines performed and recorded with the world’s top Latin performers such as: Tito Puente, Ray Barreto, Oscar d’Leon, Giovanni Hidalgo, Manny Oquendo, Andy González, Omara Portuondo, Rubén Gonzalez, Cachaito López and Arturo Sandoval, to mention just a few.
Their major contribution has been in placing the name of their homeland on top. Their most recent award has been the Grammy Latino of 2001 with ‘La Rumba soy yo’.
At the close of 2001, the quartet suffered the loss of Alfredo, the third of the brothers, who was a genuine exponent of Cuban percussion and acknowledged as such throughout the world for 38 years.
Los Papines’greatest virtue is their respect for family tradition, presently examplified by the inclusion of the new generation, Luis Abreu Chantres, a young and talented percussionist and performer. The feminine note –for the first time in the history of the group- is the presence of enchanting percussionist and vocalist Yuliet Abreu Fernández (Jesús daughter), undeniably a descendant of master musicians.
Los Papines are officially considered to be national cultural heritage of Cuba
