Patricio Ballagas

Composer and important formal innovator of Trova music. "Timidez," written in 1914, is his most famous number. His compositions were written in 4/4 time when most others were composing in 2/4 time. And more importantly, he invented "double text," where the melody is superimposed over the lead vocal, which then becomes the second voice. He introduced Contracanto into the Trova form, so that the second voice changes from being intimately connected to the first voice to becoming a melodic and harmonic expression with its own identity. Born March 17, 1879 in Camagüey, Cuba DiedFebruary 15, 1920 in Havana, Cuba