Willy Chirino

Name at birth:  Willy Chirino
Date of birth: 5 April 1947
Place of birth: Consolación del Sur, Pinar del Rio province, CUBA

Willy Chirino was called “King” of Miami’s Calle Ocho Festival already back in 1993. He is the master of Miami Salsa music with more than 100 songs and 28 recorded albums. Willy was born in a small town in Cuba. He was the only boy in a family of 3 sisters. His father was the state attorney of Consolación del Sur and his mother was a pharmacist. After the Cuban revolution in 1959 Willy went to the United States through the “Operation Peter Pan” (it was an organization which helped on Cuban children to get out of the country). Willy started his musician carreer in Miami by releasing his first album in 1974.

Chirino has received numerous awards throughout his career. In 1995, a section of NW 17th Avenue in Miami was named "Willie Chirino Way" after the famous star. Chirino received a UNICEF award for his work for children via the Willie Chirino Foundation.
In 2006, his album “Son del Alma”, won a Grammy Award for Best Salsa/Merengue Album.

Discography:
1974    One man alone
1975    Chirino
1976    Chirino 3
1977    Quien salvo la ciudad
1978    Evolucion
1980    Diferente
1981    La salsa y yo
1982    Chirinismo
1983    Come into my music
1984    Subiendo
1985    14 exitos
1985    Zarabanda
1988    Amandote
1990    Acuarela del Caribe
1991    Oxígeno
1992    Un tipo tipico
1993    South beach
1995    Asere
1997    Baila conmigo
1998    Cuba libre
2000    Greatest hits
2000    Soy
2001    Afrodisiac
2004    Son del alma
2005    Cubanismo
2007    Amarraditos (with Lisette)
2008    Pa'lante


by Zsuzsa Melkvi
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About the Author: Zsuzsa Melkvi is a salsa dancer and teacher, having competed in Latin-American and Standard dances from 1995-1998. She is also the founder of Baila Cuba (www.bailacuba.hu), a Dance company focused on giving exclusively pure Afro-Cuban workshops in Hungary. Zsuzsa holds a BA degree in Economics from the University of Hertfordshire.