Ernesto Lecuona: Works

Malagueña is a song by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. Written with Spanish lyrics in 1928, the music was originally the sixth movement of his piano-piece Andalucia. The song has since become a popular, jazz, marching band, and drum corps standard. Instrumental versions and vocal versions, in several languages, have been performed by artists such as Caterina Valente, Connie Francis, Stan Kenton, Marco Rizo, Carlos Montoya, Jose Feliciano, and Ritchie Valens.

Damisela encantadora (Enchanting Damsel) is a  Lecuona 'waltz song' (vals canción) written for voice and piano. Here's an excerpt from the 1982 PhD dissertation of Gloria Castiel Jacobson at the University of Florida:

"As far as waltzes are concerned Lecuona has one of the most beautiful selections ever to come out of Cuba. Among the best known are Damisela encantadora (Enchanting Damsel), Crisantemo (Chrisanthemum) , La estudiantina (The Student), and Vals romantico (Romantic Waltz).  For the most part the waltzes are typical of the genre, but they contain some of the most unforgettable melodies in the composer's output. Although not as technically demanding as some of his other music, Lecuona's waltzes still contain those virtuosic passages typical of the Romantic composers."

Ernesto Lecuona (1895 - 1963) was a famous Cuban composer and pianist. He composed over six hundred pieces, mostly in Cuban style. He composed songs and music for stage and movies. His music contains zarzuela (a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre), Afro-Cuban ,and Cuban rhythms. His well-known suites and songs include Siboney (Canto Siboney), Malagueña, and Andalucía (The Breeze And I). Much of Lecuona's music was first introduced to American audiences by Desi Arnaz, a fellow Cuban and Lucille Ball's husband.