He was a disciple of the tresero Eduardo Fusté, and a member of early groups in Cárdenas, such as Peonia and that of Benito Tumborombo.
Later he moved to Havana, where he joined Los Veintiuno, directed by Alejandro Sotolongo, which used claves, maracas, marimbula, bongó and pianito (a wooden instrument with hemp cords).
During his extremely long career, Chicho sang and played the son in streets, plazas, cafés, nightclubs and other venues throughout Cuba.
In the 1920s, when the sextetos became popular, he was forced to sell his compositions to these larger groups and their composers in order to survive.
His compositions include Tóma mamá que te manda tía, Evaristo, No te metas Caridad, Ojalá (sones); Yo era dichoso, Al fin mujer (bolero-sones); Qué más me pides, La saya de Oyá (guaguancos).