 pedro knight caraballo (september 30, 1921 â february 3, 2007) was a afro-cuban musician and the husband and manager of singer celia cruz. ==early life== pedro knight caraballo was born september 30, 1921.steward, sue (february 1, 2007). " pedro knight". the guardian. ==career and relationship with celia cruz== knight was a trained trumpeter, and a "powerfully expressive" musician, according to sue stewart of the guardian. at age 23, he joined the havana-based, afro-cuban conjunto band, la sonora matancera ("the sound of matanzas", a port with a large black population), that produced "raunchy", highly rhythmic dance music rooted in traditional, africa-based styles of son and guaracha, as revived decades later by the buena vista social club. the key to the band's sound relied on trumpets, percussion, cuban guitar, double bass, voices, and piano. at the time, havana was emerging as one of the world's most popular musical nightspots. la sonora operated under a veiled apartheid system which kept many black musicians out of the affluent clubs that catered to american tourists. by the 1950s the band's sophisticated arrangements and live radio performances had become part of the golden age of cuban music, having appeared alongside american singers such as nat king cole and sarah vaughan. thumb|left|dexter lehtinen, celia cruz, alonso r. del portillo, rep. ros-lehtinen, and pedro knight in may 1992 in 1950, the band's leader, rogelio martÃ­nez, invited celia cruz, who had gained popularity for her radio performances and for breaking the color barrier with the sexy song and dance act las mulatas de fuego at cuba's mafia-run casino-club, the tropicana, to join the band. over the course of six or seven years, she and knight gradually became good friends, though she resisted his romantic advances because she feared a relationship with knight, whom she knew enjoyed casual relationships with women and had five children at that point, would not work out. in july 1960, a year and a half after fidel castro came to power, la sonora matancera went to mexico city to accept a two-year touring contract, but martÃ­nez announced during a radio interview that h
1921_births 2007_deaths American_entertainers_of_Cuban_descent Colorectal_cancer_survivors Cuban_Roman_Catholics Cuban_emigrants_to_the_United_States Cuban_exiles Cuban_people_of_African_descent Cuban_trumpeters Musicians_from_Miami,_Florida