Gilberto Miguel Calderón (April 22, 1931 – February 15, 2009),[1] known professionally as Joe Cuba, was an American conga drummer of Puerto Rican descent widely regarded as the "Father of Latin Boogaloo".
[citation needed] Gilberto Miguel Calderón Cardona was born in Harlem, New York, United States.
[2] Calderón's parents moved from Puerto Rico to New York City in the late 1920s, and settled in Spanish Harlem, a Latino community located in Manhattan.
[2] The lyrics to Cuba's music used a mixture of Spanish and English, becoming an important part of the Nuyorican Movement.
[4] In 1965, the Sextet got their first crossover hit with the Latin and soul fusion of "El Pito (I'll Never Go Back to Georgia)".
[2] The "I'll Never Go Back to Georgia" chant was taken from Dizzy Gillespie's intro to the seminal Afro-Cuban tune "Manteca."
In 2004, he was named Grand Marshal of the Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrated in Yonkers, New York.