CubaPLUS Magazine

On July 26, 1923, Luis Mariano Carbonell Pullés was born in Santiago de Cuba, artistically known thanks to an unforgettable and high-quality performance by the name of Luis Carbonell, also called the Watercolorist of Antillean poetry.

All the color, sweetness, the finest humor and the sharpness of a very Creole mischievousness, reinforced by all the components of the Cuban cultural stew (ajiaco), stood out in the deliveries of Master Carbonell, with capital letters, when he presented himself to his compatriots and foreign public, especially of Latin and continental origin, who identified more with his art.

For this reason, when he died on May 24, 2014, in the capital, he left a beautiful record as an excellent professional and at the same time a trainer of new generations. Declaimer, musician and writer, the Watercolorist received the Félix Varela Order, highest award in the cultural sector, and the National Music and Humor Awards, separately, among other notable distinctions

He was a high-end technician in assembling voices and preparing repertoires for the singers he accompanied on the piano. His artistic talents and his irrepressible approach to declamation were manifested since childhood and he was already working as a pianist and reciting in shows at the Oriente and Cuba theaters in his hometown.

Already recognized in the East, he settles in Havana, where he studies music again. In the middle of 1946 he travels to New York, where he temporarily resides and works. There he meets Esther Borja and Ernesto Lecuona, who were impressed by his presentation at a friendly agape. Shortly after, with their help, he took his first decisive step in the artistic world with an interview and performance in a special NBC program broadcast throughout the continent.

Later, he wins the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall, where he was successful. With the halo of that success, he returned to his homeland and began to give memorable shows, also with a warm welcome.

This was his professional life from then on in Cuba, increasingly outstanding and acclaimed. He traveled and his art was widely recognized in many countries on the continent. He was a mainstay in various Cuban television programs and recorded several albums with prints, poems and as a repertorist, along with other great artists.