Image: Wikimedia Commons

Cachao

Cuban double bassist and composer (1918–2008)

PersonDied aged 89humanQ562148

Also known as Israel López · Israel López Valdés · Israel "Cachao" López

Born: September 14, 1918
1
Sources
1.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-05-03
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Died: March 22, 2008
3
Sources
1.news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7310233.stm
2.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2014-05-03
3.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Birthplace: Havana
Place of death: Coral Gables
Citizenship: Cuba
Occupation: composer
, conductor
, jazz musician
+2 more

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Israel López Valdés, better known as Cachao, was a Cuban double bassist and composer. Cachao is widely known as the co-creator of the mambo and a master of the descarga. Throughout his career he also performed and recorded in a variety of music styles ranging from classical music to salsa. An exile in the United States since the 1960s, he only achieved international fame following a career revival in the 1990s.

Overview

Life at a glance

Positions, education, employers and awards over time

Spans and dates from Wikidata qualifiers (start/end/point in time). Hover for details; click to open.

Appears in

1 linked to Cachao in Wikidata

CCalle 542000 · 2000 film by Fernando Trueba

Performed

3 linked to Cachao in Wikidata

All data

73 statements · 22% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Cause of death: kidney failure
Genre: danzón
descarga
son cubano
mambo
Given name: Israel
Manner of death: natural causes
Website: israelcachaolopez.com
Family name: López
Instrument: double bass
piano
Awards: Latin Grammy Hall of Fame(2013) for work: Cuban Jam Sessions in Miniature
Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album(2012)
Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Album(2011)
Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album(2005)
Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Album(2005)
Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album(2003) together with: Bebo Valdés, Carlos "Patato" Valdes · for work: El Arte del Sabor
Latin Grammy Award for Best Traditional Tropical Album(2002) together with: Bebo Valdés, Carlos "Patato" Valdes · for work: El Arte del Sabor
International Latin Music Hall of Fame(1999)
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Grammy Award for Best Tropical Latin Album(1995)
Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame(1994)
star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Sex or gender: male
2
Sources
1.Stated in BnF authoritiesRetrieved 2015-10-10
2.Stated in Integrated Authority FileRetrieved 2024-06-23
View statement on Wikidata ↗
Start of work period: 1926
Second family name in Spanish name: Valdés

On other databases

35 identifiers linking Cachao across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

22%

externally sourced

Source last edited September 7, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). Cachao (Q562148). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/cachao-Q562148