Daniel Santos, Julio Jaramillo

Born into poverty in Puerto Rico, Daniel Santos became one of the most influential singers and songwriters in Latin and South America during the middle of the 20th century. From the pen of Pedro Flores, his early lovelorn lyrics -- a series of aching, mostly one-word hits such as "Despedida," "Obsesión," "Irresistible," "Perdón," "Venganza" -- influenced author Gabriel García Márquez as much as other singers, while his later, patriotic material riled American intelligence officers and inspired Fidel Castro's Cuban Revolution. Santos was born in 1916 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. ...