Bebo Valdés was born on October 9, 1918 in Quivican, Cuba. He was a composer and actor, known for Chico & Rita (2010), Capote (2005) and Before Night Falls (2000). He was married to Rose Marie Pehrson. He died on March 22, 2013 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden.
After the 1959 Cuban revolution, he left Cuba for Mexico. He eventually settled in Sweden.
He began his career in the nightclubs of Havana in the 1940s, and was a major figure in the golden era of Cuban big band music. He was a pianist, composer, and arranger, and led two big bands, as well as creating his own rhythm, the batanga.