The Midday Distraction #84: Tito Gonzalez

Cuban son music is our focus today, with an artist who comes to us courtesy of FlipSwitch PR.

Tito Gonzalez is a former fisherman turned cab driver whose membership in a cabbie musical band got him television exposure as a musician -- it's a winding road to success, but the results are worth it, and I long for a day when barriers between American and our other neighbor directly to the south fall so we can benefit more deeply from their culture.

Here's what you'll hear today (right-click to download MP3 or to open in a new tab or window):

• Tito Gonzalez: "Busco a Alguien"
• Tito Gonzalez: "Cana Tabaco y Ron"
• Tito Gonzalez: "Aquel Viejo Amor"

(Total play time: 17:23)

Today is Freedom Day in Belarus, Struggle for Human Rights Day in Slovakia, Independence Day in Greece, Mother's Day in Slovenia, and Maryland Day ... urm, somewhere.

The British Empire abolished the slave trade this day in 1807. The University of Oxford expelled Percy Bysshe Shelley this day in 1811 for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism. Hungarian composer Béla Bartók was born this day in 1881.

Warning: A sure-to-be controversial lack of conspiracy theory-mongering will be found in the next sentence.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 garment workers in New York City this day in 1911; Jack Ruby, the killer of John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, was born the same day.

OK, for those who are left...

French poet and Nobel laureate Frédéric Mistral died this day in 1914. American author Flannery O'Connor was born this day in 1925; I knew she was deceased but didn't realize until writing this that she only lived until 1964. Feminist author and publisher Gloria Steinem was born this day in 1934. Singer Aretha Franklin was born this day in 1942. English singer, songwriter and pianist Elton John was born this day in 1947. American actor James McDaniel was born this day in 1958. Desperate Housewives actresses Brenda Strong and Marcia Cross -- who interestingly enough both appeared on Everwood, with Strong's character dead before the pilot episode and seen in flashback on both shows -- were born this day in 1960 and 1962, respectively. Canadian blues-rock guitarist and singer Jeff Healey was born this day in 1966. Honeymooners John Lennon and Yoko Ono began their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton this day in 1969; the event lasted until March 31. American Idol singer and budding actress Katharine McPhee was born this day in 1984.