Guest
Manolo Alvarez Mera (1923-1986) was a Cuban born tenor, whose career was, regrettably, largely confined to radio, television and the concert platform. Known as “The Golden Voice of the Americas” (not an entirely accurate sobriquet), he was hailed as “the greatest singing sensation since the late Mario Lanza” by Milwaukee’s Music Under the Stars Washington Park director John Anello. He began his career in his native Havana, making his debut at the Teatro Principal de la Comedia in the zarzuela Fernando de Maria la O in 1943. He followed this up a year later with an appearance in Lecuona’s zarzuela La Plaza de la Catedral. Mera soon established himself as a popular zarzuela star, making appearances in La Dolores, Los Gavilanes, La Leyenda del Beso, Maria Fernanda, and other famous works. The young tenor was also a featured vocalist on Radio Habana Cuba-Cadena Azul as well as on Circuito CMQ. Despite his phenomenal success in his homeland, Mera could not resist the lure of America and accepted an offer to appear at Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe Nightclub in New York in the fall of 1947. He wound up being featured in Rose’s revue, Violins Over Broadway, which opened later that year. The show ran for more than two years, to mostly favorable reviews. Bill Smith, writing for Billboard (January 10, 1948), summed up Mera’s contribution to the show; “Manolo Alvarez Mera, a short, pudgy Latin lad, did a couple of songs, showing a big tenor voice plus a mouthful of enviable dental equipment.” After leaving the show, Mera journeyed to South America, where he appeared on radio and in concert in Rio de Janiero, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires and Montevideo before returning to the U.S. in 1951. Mera had some difficulty securing engagements in New York and travelled to Hollywood to take advantage of the new television medium. The Cuban singer appeared on The Colgate Comedy Hour in 1954, impressing the coast to coast audience. Hedda Hopper, in her column from April 5, 1954, stated, “Manolo Mera, Cuban tenor whose voice is sensational, had the MGM lot in a dither when he tested there…. If Metro officials don’t sign him, they should have their heads examined.” Sadly, the buzz from MGM went nowhere and Mera soon found himself at Vegas’ Flamingo Hotel singing with Freddy Martin’s orchestra. He also gave a much heralded concert at the Hollywood Bowl under the baton of Miklos Rozsa and appeared on such TV shows as Hollywood Palace and the Ed Sullivan Show. In the late 1950s, Mera made one final return to his homeland to perform in La Leyenda del Beso and The Merry Widow. His appearance in these works was not as successful as he had hoped and he decided to flee the now communist controlled nation. By the early 1960s, hotel lounges and ballrooms had become Mera’s bread and butter and he appeared at such venues as New York’s Waldorf Astoria, the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago and the Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada. He settled in New York in the early 1960s and attempted to eke out a living as a concert artist with civic orchestras. Sadly, by the early 1970s, the work had all but dried up and Mera was reduced to applying for welfare in order to survive. His health failing, he relocated to Tampa, Florida, where he spent his final years. He passed away in 1986 a few weeks shy of his 63rd birthday. Manolo Alvarez Mera was something of a Cuban Mario Lanza (even making the unfounded claim that he had provided the singing voice for Lanza in at least one of the tenor’s films!). He was the possessor of an extraordinary lirico-spinto tenor voice. It was a voice that would have been ideal for the operas of Verdi, Puccini, Giordano, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, etc…but, like Lanza, Mera never had the opportunity to make full use of that glorious instrument. Such a pity. Luckily, Manolo Alvarez Mera took the opportunity to make a few commercial recordings so that his tremendous vocal talents can still be enjoyed today.
