Don Marino Barreto Jr.

Marino (or rather "Don" Marino, as he loved to be called) was born in Cuba, original inhabitant of Matanzas' territory (Matanzas was just his pseudonym as an author). Living already in Italy during the period of Fidel Castro's revolution, and having a dance orchestra very well launched, he has not gone back to his native country, settling definitively in Italy. Singer's success was really enormous, as when he interpreted Italian songs as when he interpreted those which at that time were called "Afro-Cuban rhythm songs", in other words, of South-American origin. At Rome, at Grotte Del Piccione he did full house, as at Capannina of Viareggio and in every nught club he performed. The song "Arrivederci", written by Bindi and sung by the singer himself, completely doubled its sales when Don Marino Barreto took possession of it. He made it his own and thanks to his version, the song gained the absolute first position in annual chart of 1959. His way of singing so personal, his way to drawl softly made him become a personality in economic boom Italy. His fortune exhausted itself between 1961 and 1962, when rhythms like samba, bossanova, cha cha cha (which made the night golden era) were supplanted by twist and madison, and that time singers (Dallara, Sentieri and others) were entrenched by various Morandi and Pavone. It was the end of an era, even if very short, which maybe had to be dated back to Buscaglione's death day. On that day really finished a period. At least according to who entirely lived that period. (Matanzas, December 8, 1925 - † Milano, December 10, 1971)

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