Damiron

An authentic Dominican musical legend, he was born to Theodore Simó Knipping and Mercedes Damirón in San Francisco De Macorís on November 21st, 1908. Starting in 1932 he took his style of merengue music to different parts of the world and became a pioneer of the international projection of that rhythm. He performed with Negrito Chapuseaux and the Panamanian singer [a=Sylvia DeGrasse] asa group known as "Los Alegres Tres". Without damaging the originality of the Dominican music, Damiron introduced the piano merengue, or specifically, the merengue played in a piano solo. Damiron was the composer of Dolorita, La Empalizá and La Maricutana, in addition to another 300 merengues. He recorded more than 65 albums, some of which broke all the sales marks in his time, as happened with a guaracha that was titled "Dale De Comer Al Barbero", of which 850,000 copies were sold. In Venezuela he performed next to Billo Frómeta, in the orchestra Billo's Caracas Boys. He was decorated with the Order of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella in 1973 and with the Order of Francisco Miranda in Venezuela in 1978. He married Adelina Leiva, of Argentine nationality, and they had a son, Frankie Simó Leiva.
Damiron died in Santo Domingo the April 3rd, 1992 in the house of his brother Sixto Alfredo.