Rubén González, a distinguished Cuban pianist, was born on May 26, 1919, in the city of Santa Clara. He began studying piano in 1925 with his sister Josefa, and at the age of fifteen, he enrolled at the Cienfuegos Conservatory, where he studied with Amparo Rizo. He graduated in 1936 and moved to the Cuban capital four years later. He also studied medicine, but had to drop out due to financial difficulties.

Once in Havana, he began to associate with great pianists such as René Hernandez, Elton Añejo “El Ñato,” Anselmo Sacasa, Jesús López, and Facundo Rivero.

He gained fame for his solos in the danzón, guaracha, and cha-cha-chá, as well as for his elegant and gentlemanly performance. His first performances were in bars and hotels, eventually joining Ninón Mondejar’s Orquesta América and Enrique Jorrín’s Orquesta América. He also played in the Sans Soucí cabaret with Rolando Laserie, and worked at the Marte y Belona, ​​La Gaviota, and Rialto dance academies with the Elósegui orchestra. He also performed with Paulina Álvarez’s Charanga.

His first significant turn of events came in 1943 when he joined Arsenio Rodríguez’s group, with whom he recorded his first album. After a stint with the group, Rubén González settled in Panama until 1956; from there, he moved to Venezuela, where he remained until 1962. Upon his return to Cuba, he joined the Kubavana group led by singer Alberto Ruiz. The distinguished pianist also belonged to Senén Suarez’s groups, the Siboney Jazz Band, and the Riverside Jazz Band.

He retired in the late 1980s, but had a second chance at his career. A member of the Buena Vista Social Club, he was already retired until 1994, when tres player Arturo “Alambre Dulce” Harvey and Raúl Planas visited his home to pay tribute to Lilí Martínez. That visit gave him renewed courage and heralded all the good things that would happen later.

Two years later, in 1996, the pianist’s long-awaited breakthrough came with the project of Juan de Marcos González with the Afro Cuban All Stars Orchestra. At that time, three albums were recorded, two of which were nominated for the 1997 Grammy Awards: “Introduction to Rubén González and Buena Vista Social Club,” produced by American Ry Cooper and featuring other personalities such as Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, among others. This album ultimately won the Grammy Award. He also won another Latin Grammy for the album Chanchullo, which won Best Tropical Music Album.

In his later years, Rubén González performed several times in Mexico: in 1998, he was the first artist from the Buena Vista Social Club roster to visit the country, and he returned the following year as a soloist with his orchestra. As a guest star of the Afro Cuban All Stars, he opened the Festival Cervantino and filled the Zócalo in 1999, and played with Buena Vista Social Club at the Auditorio Nacional in 2001 and 2002.

Along with Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, he received the Félix Varela Order, Cuba’s highest honor for creators, “for a lifetime of work.” Devastated by osteoarthritis, he died on December 8, 2003, at the side of his wife, Eneida. Discos CoraSon, the Mexican record label for which Rubén González recorded, expressed its condolences in a statement.