Chan

Sebastian Herrera Zapata “Chan” (1/20/1920–5/9/1999) was born into a familia congueristica. His father was José Basilio Herrera “Negrito,” a musician and comparsa organizer. Chan began playing quinto in the Conga de Los Hoyos in his teens and eventually served as the group’s director for many years until his death in 1999. One of his best-known contributions is the 1947 comparsa which he co-created, Los hijos del Cocoyé (“The Children of Cocoyé”), discussed in Chapter 6.

Photo by Daniel Chatelain, Ritmacuba.com.