Biography
Eduardo Mateo (full name Ángel Eduardo Mateo López , 1940 – 1990) was a Uruguayan singer, songwriter, guitarist and arranger.
Born in Montevideo on September 19, 1940, his mother worked as a cleaner for the famous composer Eduardo Fabini and named her son Eduardo in the hope that he would become a famous musician. At the age of 14 they bought him his first guitar and at 18 he formed his first band "O Bando de Orfeo". For two years they played on the street, at birthdays and parties, until a radio station called them and they recorded some songs with which they became known to a wider audience. The group disbanded in 1962; Mateo in less than 10 years became one of the most important musicians in the country and the leader of very successful groups such as "Los Malditos" and "El Kinto". Recognized as the creator of the fusion of the traditional rhythm, Candombe, with other modern rhythms such as beat, jazz, bossa nova, he played an important role in the development of modern music in Uruguay
Eduardo Mateo developed his work during a particularly difficult period of life in the country and often found himself marginalized by a society that could not accept the diversity of people.
In 1990 he began to feel very ill having been diagnosed with stomach cancer for some time, a fact which he had kept a secret. He died on May 16.