Arsenio Rodríguez Birth name Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull Born August 31, 1911 Güira de Macurije, Matanzas Province, Cuba Origin Cuba Died December 31, 1970 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, United States Genres Son montuno, guaracha, guaguancó, bolero, afro, cha- cha-cha, lamento Occupations musician Instruments tres, tumbadora (conga) Arsenio Rodríguez (born Ignacio Arsenio Travieso Scull, Güira de Macurije, 31 August 1911 – Los Angeles, 31 December 1970)was a Cuban musician, composer and bandleader.He played the tres (Cuban string instrument) in son-based music and tumbadora, or conga, in folkloric rumba. In the 1940s and 50s Rodríguez reorganized the son conjunto (‘son group’) and developed the son montuno, the basic template of modern-day salsa. He claimed to be the true creator of the mambo and was an important as well as a prolific composer who wrote nearly two hundred song lyrics.Early lifeRodríguez was born in Güira de Macurije in Bolondrón, Matanzas Province as the third of fifteen children, fourteen boys and one girl.As a young child, Rodríguez was blinded when a horse (or a mule) kicked him in the head.Rise to FameLater, Rodríguez became a musician, and eventually became one of the most renowned bandleaders on the island earning him the nickname El Ciego Maravilloso (the Marvellous Blind Man). His music emphasized Afro-Cuban rhythm as well as the melodic lead of the tres, which he played. In 1936 he played his own compositions with the Sexteto Boston, led by his cousin Jacinto Scull. The group disbanded in 1937, and he joined the Septeto Bellamar of cornetist José Interián in 1938.