Puchito Records

This article is about the company, itself. For the discography, see Puchito Records discography.

Puchito Records
Founded	1954
Founder	Jesús Goris (1921–2006)
Genre	Cuban
Country of origin	Cuba (until 1961) Miami, Florida (beginning 1961)
Location	Havana, Cuba (1952–1961) Miami, Florida (1961–  )

Puchito Records was one of Cuba's first independent record labels. It was founded in 1954 during the mambo and cha-cha-chá explosion. Many of its recordings, produced by its founder Jesús Goris, became instant hits.

History

Early career of Puchito's founder

The founder, Jesús Goris (né Jesús Ramon Francisco Goris Ballas; 12 April 1921 Havana, Cuba – 16 Aug 2006 Miami, Florida) had been a representative of RCA Victor, selling records from a separate counter at his father's hardware store, La Estrella. Eventually, the store became known as Goris Shop.

Back then, stores were restricted to sell records from just one label. At La Estrella, they were supposed to sell only RCA Records, but Gorís, he would sell you Columbia and Decca recordings he kept hidden under the counter. I guess that secret can now be told.

— Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, 2006

In 1952, Goris invested in a single, "Guantanamera", composed by Joseíto Fernández, which did well in jukeboxes. Goris and two partners originally wanted to launch a series of children's records, so they chose the name Puchito, which, in this context, means "youngest child." In 1954, Goris and his two partners produced an LP of Olga Guillot singing with the The Castro Brothers Orchestra, one of Cuba's first jazz bands (no relation to Fidel Castro). Although Guillot. "Mienteme" ("Lie to Me"), a bolero composed by Chamaco Domínguez (es) (1921–1985), was one of the album's great successes. Puchito went on to produce Guillot on nine more albums, and a few singles, up until 1960. In 1958, Goris hired pianist René Touzet (1916–2003) as musical director and orchestrator of Guillot's album, Intemidades (MLP-526), which gained reputation as having the most important works of her career, an several that cemented Touzet's reputation as an original composer: "La Noche de Anoche" ("The Night Last Night"), "Será Cuando Tú Quieras," "Estuve Pensando," and "No Te Importe Saber" ("Let Me Love You Tonight"). Guillot and Touzet, though never married, had a daughter together: Olga María Touzet-Guillot (born 1960).

With the support of Benny Moré, Goris spearheaded the rediscovery of a major sonero artist from the 1920s, Abelardo Barroso, who, back then, had sung with Sexteto Habanero. Goris curated and, through Puchito, republished old photographs and produced Barroso with the Orquesta Sensación. In early July 1955, Barroso recorded a single, "La hija de Juan Simón" and "En Guantánamo" (Puchito 224, 78 rpm & 45 rpm), his first recording in over fifteen years, and apart from his solitary single in 1939, his first in over a quarter century. Rolando Valdés, founder of Orquesta Sensación, selected the songs for the session, both from Barroso's radio hits of the 1930s. The release became one of the greatest double-sided hits in the history of popular music. It became a Gold Record in 1956.

In 1956, Puchito released 5 more singles featuring Barroso and Orquesta Sensación.

Selected 1956 releases

• Puchito 262 (1956); OCLC 84977883

  Side A: "El Manisero" ("The Peanut Ventor")

  Moisés Simons (w&m)

  OCLC 84977883

  Side B: "Resabroso Cha-Cha-Cha"

  OCLC 81455334

• Puchito 496

  Side A: "Coctel Para Dos"

  Arthur Johnston (w&m)

  Sam Coslow (w&m)

  Side B: "Vuelve Navidad"

Other Puchito hits by Barroso

• "El Panquelero"
• "Tiene sabor"
• "El Guajiro de Cunagua"
• "La Macorina"
• "Con sabor a bombón"
• "Bruca Maniguá"

For the rest of the 1950s, Goris produced several other highly successful records on the Puchito label. He produced Chapottin y sus Estrellas on with singer Miguelito Cuní (es) (1917–1984), the Orquesta Riverside with singer Tito Gomez (1920–2000) and Roberto Faz (1914–1966) and his conjunto for the label. Puchito manufactured its discs at Panart's factory.

1961 Cuban nationalization — National Press of Cuba

On May 29, 1961, during the process of enterprise nationalization started by the Revolutionary Government, the assets and management of several record companies were assumed by the Imprenta Nacional de Cuba (INC) (National Press of Cuba), an arts overseer created March 31, 1961. Companies included in the seizure included Puchito and Panart.

Imprenta Nacional de Cuba acted as the only legal Cuban label until 1964.

In 1964, EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) became Cuba's national label. EGREM operated several imprints including Areito (for recordings made in the former Panart studios in Havana), Palma (for international distribution) and Siboney (for recordings made in Santiago de Cuba).

Puchito Record Mfg. Co. Inc. in Florida

In 1961, two years after the end of the Cuban Revolution, Goris went into exile, immigrating to Miami, Florida, and was lawfully admitted in the United States for permanent residence on October 20, 1962. He began working at a 7-Eleven, them became a top salesman for Equitable Life Insurance in Miami. While working in insurance, Goris launched Puchito Record Mfg. Co. Inc. in 1963 as a Florida entity. Goris became an naturalized United States citizen on April 12, 1968. The company remained active until 1971. It somehow operated afterwards from the US, but seem to have continued also in Cuba for a while after the revolution.

Puchito Mfg. Co. Inc. (1969)

757 West 83^rd Street

Hialeah, Florida

President & Head of A&R: Jesús Goris

Vice President: G. Pucci Storniolo.

Labels: Puchito, Adria, Dardo Recordings, J. & G. Recordings

J. & G. Recordings was a United States trademark of Puchito Record Mfg. Co. Inc., based in Hialeah, Florida. The trademark was active ten years, from April 25, 1967, to April 25, 1977.

Armada and Rodriguez of Miami, Inc.

José Armada and Vicente Rodríguez, who had been in the record business together in Cuba, remain together when they arrived in New York in 1964. They recorded and distributed Puchito Records and set up racks in New York and New Jersey.

Fellow Cubans brought them to Miami in 1968, where they purchased the bankrupt Puchito label at an auction, picked up some other labels, and started a distributing business. In 1972 they opened a manufacturing plant — Armada and Rodriguez of Florida, Inc. — where they press LP's and 45's for their own labels: Gema Records, Velvet Records Inc., Continental Records, Aro Records, Funny Records, Regio Records, and Suave Records, and a number of custom labels. Their labels, Aro, Funny, Regio, and Suave are distributed all over the U.S. and Puerto Rico and for the most part are licensed works from Latin America.

But, the also produced and recorded local artists, including The Antiques, Alexis Fari, Miriam and the Sons of Paraguay. Armada & Rodriquez distributed Gema throughout the U.S., and they owned their own distributing organization in New York and Antilla.

They sold only to distributors, not to retail stores, but also owned a distributing company that sold to retail stores and serviced their racks.

Re-release labels

• Southeastern Records, Hialeah, Florida (South-Eastern Records Manufacturing Corporation)

  Mateo San Martin, Opa Locka, Florida

  Roberto Rodreguez, Opa Locka, Florida

• A company called "Adria" distributed for "Florida Puchito Records MFG. Co. Inc." see OCLC 836877790
• Big World Distributors Inc. (Miami)
• WCD (World Circuit Distributors)
• Antilla Records, Miami

  Antilla Record Distributors, Inc., was a a company owned and operated by José Armada. Under the label, records were manufactured and distributed by Armada & Rodriguez of Florida, Inc., named after founders and co-presidents, José Armada, Sr., and Vicente Rodríguez of Miami.

  "Distributed by Armada & Rodriguez of Florida"

  "Manufactured and distributed by Armada & Rodriguez of Florida"

  José Armada, Sr., owned the Caribbean Records Mfg., Corp.

  Mangu Records and Parcha were trademarks owned jointly, or a separate times, by:

  1. Platano Records, Inc, Miami, FL (José Armada)
  2. Antilla Record Distributors, Inc, New York, NY (José Armada)

Subsidiaries, distributors, and successors

Sometime around 1955, Puchito Records became a subsidiary of Montilla Records, which was owned by Fernando Montilla (né Fernando José Montilla Ambrosiani; 1915–2014) and, from 1955 to 1959, managed by Harry Sultan. In 1956, Montilla Records, set-up in a distributorship in New York City on 23rd Street, to expand distribution of Puchito Records coast-to-coast.

Armada & Rodriguez of Florida, Inc., Miami, Florida (founded July 22, 1968 — dissolved September 24, 1999)

• Platano Records, Inc., Miami, Florida

Personnel

• José Armada
• Juan B. Fernandez
• Elvira Treyne
• José Armanda

Antilla Records, Inc., Bronx, New York (founded in October 31, 1985, as a New York entity, and dissolved June 24, 1992)

Not to be confused with the above Antilla Records, another firm named Antilla Records was founded February 26, 1999, as a New York entity. It was renamed Sabor Records, Inc., in June 25, 1999, and dissolved March 2, 2004.

Toreador Records were manufactured in the U.S. by Fernando Montilla, 131 East 23rd Street, New York, New York.

Talía Industria Manufacturera De Disco S.A., based in Lima, produced, manufactured, and distributed Puchito Records.

Dardo Recording Corp. (Dardo Recordings), based in Hialeah, Florida, manufactured and distributed Puchito Records under the Dardo Recordings label.

Selected Puchito artists and groups

Individual artists

• Rolando Valdés, vocalist orchestra leader (first signed with Puchito in 1953)
• Olga Guillot (1922–2010), vocalist who made a recording that became one of luckiest breaks for Puchito Records
• Fredesvinda García, aka "Freddy" (1935–1961), sometimes referred to as the 300-pound Ella Fitzgerald, recorded her only album with Puchito before her untimely death
• Celina González (1929–2015)
• Leopoldo Fernández (1904–1985), comedian
• Abelardo Barroso (1905–1972), career was revived by Jesús Goris
• José Fajardo (1919–2001)
• Antonio María Romeu (1876–1955)
• Cesar Gonzmart (1920–1992)
• Arsenio Rodríguez (1911–1970)
• Roberto Faz (1914–1966)
• Lucho Macedo (es) (born 1930)
• Senén Suárez (es) (1922–1913), composer, guitarist, arranger, writer
• Toña la Negra (1912–1982)
• Ernesto Lecuona (1895–1963), composer and pianist
• Amparo Garrido (es)
• Celio González (1024–2004), vocalist
• Félix Reina (es) (1921–1998), composer, arranger, and bandleader
• Tata Güines (1931–2008), percussionist

Groups

• Chappottín y sus Estrellas
• Trio Calaveras
• Orquesta Riverside
• Orquesta Sensación
• Grupo Guaguancó Matancero, later known as Los Muñequitos de Matanzas

Selected discography

Main article: Puchito Records discography

• Los Socios del Ritmo, Sabor Records CS-1611 (LP) (1972) — (genre: Mexican cumbia)
• Fly Me to the Moon, Willie Garcia; Orquesta Sabor (2006)
• Johnny America, The Moves (2006)
• La Nueva Ley, Tito Sierra (2005)
• Mi Marimbita, Barbara Luna
• Sabor Do Brasil V
• Sabor Do Brasil VI
• "Una Sola Palabra," Single Paulo Miguel

Other selected early Cuban independent record labels

• Panart, founded in 1943 by Ramón S. Sabat, musician and engineer
• Cuban Plastic and Record Corporation, founded in 1943 by the Cuban engineer Ramón S. Sabat
• Suaritos
• Gema, owned by the Alvarez Guedes brothers, was founded in 1957
• Maype
• Modiner
• Rosell Record
• Plátano Records Corporation, a Florida entity founded in 1992
• Southern Records — Post-Cuban Revolution U.S. distributor
• Kubaney, founded by Alfonso "Puchi" Vásquez; Emusica purchased the Kubaney back catalog in 2005, and reissued many of its hits; in 2009, Kubaney's assets were bought by the investment firm, Signal Equity Partners, operating under the name Codigo Group. The also bought 14 other Latin catalogs from the same era, including West Side Latino and Fania.
• Mate Records
• Armada & Rodriguez of Miami, Inc. — Post-Cuban Revolution U.S. distributor
• Velvet Records Inc., an inactive Florida entity, founded in 1965 and dissolved in 1985

10128 N.W. 80th Ave

Hialeah Gardens, Florida 33016

Owned by the Page brothers: Roberto Page, President; Jose Page, Vice President

• Kristal Records (re-issues of Velvet Records?)
• Aro Records
• Continental Records
• Belter Records
• Regal Records
• Ser Records
• Audio Latino Records

Record Distributors

• Discuba Records, founded in 1959 and owned by RCA Victor, and headed by Jesús Humara; lasted until 1962
• Musart Records, Mexican
• Peerless Records, Mexican
• Eco Records
• Seida Records
• Codiscos, Colombian
• RCA Records of Puerto Rico
• Royal Records (Jaime Monserrat)

See also

• List of record labels
• Artists photos, Discos Puchito, Digital Collections, University of Miami Libraries

Carlos Barba, Cuban singer

Carlos Diaz, Cuban singer

Manolo Álvarez Mera (br), Cuban tenor

Maria Luisa Chorens, Cuban singer

Mercy Cantillo, Cuban singer

Rosita Fornés

References

Notes