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Daniel Santos a.k.a. "El Jefe" (The Boss) (February 5, 1916-November 27, 1992) born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, was a singer and composer of boleros.
Daniel was born and raised with his three sisters in a poor section of Santurce, in San Juan. He attended Las Palmitas Elementry School where he received his primary education. He was doing well in school however, his father took him out of school when he was in the fourth grade and forced him to shine shoes because his fanily was facing a bad economic situation. In 1924, his family immigrated to New York City looking for a better way of life. When his parents enrolled him in school, he had to start from the first grade again because he did not know English. Daniel joined his high school's choir but, he dropped out of high school in his second year and moved out of his parents apartment.
Daniel moved into a small low rent apartment. One day, while he was taking a shower, he started to sing "Te Quiero, Dijiste" (You said I Love You). A member of the Trio Lirico was passing by and heard him sing, he then knocked on Daniel's door. The trio member invited Daniel to join the trio and he accepted. He sang with the trio in various social events and was paid a dollar for every song that he sang.
In 1938, Daniel was working at the Cuban Casino Cabaret in Manhattan. He did a little bit of everything, from singing to being the master of ceremonies to waiting on tables. On one occasion, he was singing "Amor Perdido" (Love Lost), without knowing that the composer of the song Pedro Flores was in the audience. Flores liked what he heard so much that he invited Daniel to join his group "El Cuarteto Flores" which also included Myrta Silva and in the future would include Pedro Ortiz Davila "Davilita".
Daniel recorded many songs with the Cuarteto Flores and started to gain fame. Among songs that he recorded were: "Perdon" (I'm Sorry), "Amor" (Love), "El Ultimo Adios" (The Last Good-bye), "El Boracho no Vale" (The Drunk don't Count) and many others. In 1941, many Puerto Ricans were being drafted into the U. S. Army. Daniel recorded "Despedida" (My Good-bye) which became a "hit". In 1942, before he was drafted and sent to fight in WWII, Daniel recorded his greatest hit "Linda". After returning from the war, Daniel became active in the Puerto Rican Independence Movement and identified himself with the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party and it's president Pedro Albizu Campos. Together with Davilita, he recorded "Patriotas" (Patriots) and "La Lucha por la Independencia de Puerto Rico" (The Fight for Puerto Rico's Independence) which was adopted from one of Juan Antonio Corretjer's poems. Daniel called for Puerto Rico's independence through his music and as a consequence of his actions, he had problems with the FBI and the United States State Department whenever he wanted to travel abroad.
In the [[1950]s] Daniel traveled between Cuba and New York making presentations. He composed the song "Sierra Maestra", which Fidel Castro adopted as the official hymn of the movement of July 26 and which was always transmitted through "Radio Rebelde" (Rebel Radio) every morning. Daniel continued to perform in Cuba even after Castro and his men overthrew Cuba's president Fulgencio Batista. However, when he heard that Castro was planning to train children for the military, Daniel became disillusioned and left Cuba for good. During that same decade Daniel composed "El Columpio de la Vida" (The Swing of Life), "Patricia", "El Preso" (The Prisoner) and "Bello Amor" (Beautiful Love) among 400 other compositions.
Daniel was in a bad economical and emotional state after he left Cuba. He was invited to sing for "La Sonora Matancera" which was contracted to work in "Radio Progreso". His luck changed and he again gained fame and fortune. However, Daniel spent most of his earnings on alcohol and women. He had 12 children and had been married 12 times. He had also spent time in jail in Cuba, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
During the last years of his life, Daniel toured the United States and Latin-America to sell-out crowds.
Daniel Santos died on November 27, 1992 in Ocala, Florida and is buried in the cementary of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico, close to Pedro Albizu Campos and Pedro Flores.
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