1. Victor Guillermo "Yomo" Toro was a Puerto Rican left-handed guitarist and cuatro player.
21 Facts About Yomo Toro
1. 2.
Victor Guillermo Yomo Toro was born in Ensenada, within the municipality of Guanica, near the southwestern corner of Puerto Rico.
3.
At age 15, Yomo Toro formed the string trio La Bandita de la Escuela.
4.
Yomo Toro continued his musical career by performing at events with La Bandita and other trios, all over the island of Puerto Rico, as well as on the radio program La Montana Canta.
5.
Many of Yomo Toro's lyrics were arranged 10-line verses called decimas, a poetic Spanish form that was popular as early as the 17th century.
6.
African rhythms influenced both Jibaro music, and Yomo Toro's own evolving style.
7.
For orchestration and song structure, Yomo Toro often used the bomba format.
8.
Yomo Toro was hired to play on a Christmas-themed salsa record by Willie Colon called Asalto Navideno which included several of Toro's aguinaldos and songs from the Puerto Rican parranda, or caroling, tradition.
9.
Short, round and joyous, Yomo Toro was well-suited to the role, and went on to reprise it in many holiday concerts.
10.
Yomo Toro toured the world with the Fania All-Stars in the 1970s and recorded two solo albums for Fania, Romantico and Musica Para El Mundo Entero.
11.
Yomo Toro recorded with major artists such as Cuban legend Arsenio Rodriguez and Arsenio's bassist Alfonso "El Panameno" Joseph.
12.
Yomo Toro appeared in over 150 albums and over 20 solo albums on various record labels such as Island Records, Fania Records, Rounder, and Green Linnet Records.
13.
Yomo Toro recorded four albums with Trio Los Panchos, including one featuring Eydie Gorme.
14.
Yomo Toro crossed over to many other genres and recorded songs with Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon, Linda Ronstadt and David Byrne.
15.
Yomo Toro worked on several film tracks such as Bananas by director Woody Allen and Crossover Dreams with Ruben Blades.
16.
Yomo Toro was a member of the Toro family of Guanica.
17.
Yomo Toro died of kidney failure in Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York, on 30 June 2012.
18.
Yomo Toro was buried at Saint Michaels Cemetery in East Elmhurst, Queens.
19.
Yomo Toro was survived by his sisters, Lydia, Iris, Gloria, Mirza and Milagros Toro; his brothers, Juan, Angel and Arcangel Toro; his wife of 31 years Minerva; his daughter Denise, five grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
20.
Yomo Toro performed on hundreds of albums throughout his 60-year career.
21.
Yomo Toro released over 20 solo albums on major record labels including Island Records, Fania Records, and Polygram.