Nico Rojas

Guitarist and composer Ñico Rojas was the premier exponent of the Cuban filin movement, which fused traditional bolero rhythms with American jazz harmonies and melodies to reinvent the island's musical culture. While studying civil engineering at the University of Havana in the early '40s, he taught himself to play guitar and befriended a group of aspiring composers with whom he co-founded the filin ("feeling") movement in 1942. Individually and collaboratively, the filin group produced a series of songs -- including "Mi Ayer," "Ahora Si Sé Que Te Quiero," and "Se Consciente" -- later recorded by artists such as Pepe Reyes, Orlando Vallejo, and Miguelito Valdés. ~ Jason Ankeny