José Antonio Fajardo Ramos (October 18, 1919 – December 11, 2001)[1] was a Cuban charanga bandleader and flautist, who played the traditional five-keyed wooden flute.
[2] Born in Guane, Pinar del Río Province, Fajardo learned the flute from his father, before moving to Havana in the 1930s.
[3][4] He defected to the United States in 1961 while touring Japan and reformed his band in New York City with new musicians.
[3] Fajardo died on December 11, 2001, in New York, at the age of 82.
[5] This article on a Cuban musician is a stub.