Xavier Cugat, the "Rumba King," was largely responsible for popularizing Latin music among North American audiences.

Cugat was the first bandleader to front a successful Latin orchestra in the United States. Affectionately known as ''Cugie,'' he was largely responsible for popularizing Latin music among North American audiences, paving the way for such future stars as Desi Arnaz, Perez Prado, and Tito Puente.

In the early 1920s Cugat decided to abandon classical for popular music. His main interest lay in Latin rhythms, and picking up on the tango craze he formed a short-lived band called the Gigolos. He spent the next few years playing odd engagements and working with such popular orchestras as those of Vincent Lopez and Phil Harris. In the late 1920s he jumped on the sound movie bandwagon and formed a new version of the Gigolos. With this group he finally achieved a modicum of success, opening at the Los Angeles Cocoanut Grove in 1928 and appearing in the 1929 film Mexicana.

Cugat worked in Anson Weeks' orchestra during the early 1930s before forming a new outfit of his own. He continued to lead his band throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, spending a great deal of time at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Cugat also had his own radio program. In the early 1930s he had a big hit with the song ''El Manicero'' (''The Peanut Vendor''), which started a rumba craze across America.

During the 1950s and 1960s Cugat continued performing and recording, both on the Mercury and Decca labels. He briefly had his own television program in 1957 and also spent time in Europe directing Italian television. Cugat retired from show business in 1971 after suffering a stroke. In 1978 he settled in Barcelona. Xavier Cugat died in 1990 from heart failure.

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