In 1949, brothers Cesar and Nestor Castillo departed from Havana, Cuba, and established their home in New York. They were musicians who had a brief encounter with fame through a song composed by Nestor for an idealized love interest. Their talent caught the attention of fellow Cuban Desi Arnaz, leading to a cameo appearance on the I Love Lucy show. The story encompasses the brothers’ childhood in Cuba and Cesar’s life well into his sixties.

The first half of the book presents a tale of contrasting personalities. Cesar, the flamboyant lead singer, relishes the spotlight, while Nestor is more at ease in a supporting role. Cesar pursues women without restraint, while Nestor is fixated on an early relationship, to the detriment of his wife and children. The second half centers on Cesar, sitting in a dilapidated hotel room in 1980, sipping whiskey, listening to his group’s old recordings, and reflecting on his life. The introduction and conclusion are written from the perspective of Nestor’s son, Eugenio, offering the next generation’s viewpoint.

My feelings about this book are rather mixed. On the positive side, the writing is vivid and effectively evokes the era of the 1940s and 1950s. The musical references offer a rich source of material for further exploration, which I truly appreciate. However, on the negative side, the plot seems to be almost entirely focused on drinking and sex. The main character is drinking himself to death, and the numerous sex scenes are extremely graphic. There is little development of the characters. It leaves little room for anything beyond a commentary on a shallow life. Nevertheless, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1990.

No wonder it got the Pulitzer prize. It is a marvellously written piece.

The story is told with such vividness and detail that it draws the reader in from the very first sentence.

The characters are well-developed and the plot is engaging, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat until the very end.

The author's use of language is masterful, creating a rich and immersive world that the reader can easily get lost in.

This is a truly outstanding work of literature that deserves all the praise and recognition it has received.

It is a must-read for anyone who loves great writing and wants to experience a story that will stay with them long after they have turned the last page.

Here is what life was like for two young Cuban musicians who journeyed all the way from Havana to play the lively mambo in the hot and humid dance halls of 1950s NYC.

We get a vivid picture of what it was like in the bustling streets, the glamorous nightclubs, and for Latino immigrant families. This book is truly a delight for the senses. It allows you to envision the vibrant and colorful outfits, hear the enchanting music echoing in your heart, and almost taste the delicious food and savor the smooth rum!

Cesar, the protagonist, is far from being a perfect man. However, he is a man who will linger in your memory for a long time. He is determined to live life on his own terms. His intense passion, the losses he has endured, his precious memories, and his burning desires all contribute to making this book a moving portrait of a man who has had a rich and eventful life. We also witness what happens to him as he ages.

Moreover, you gain a deep understanding of his friends, family members, and lovers. There is a significant amount of sadness, violence, and substance abuse depicted in the story. But you know what? That's an authentic part of life. This book has not been sanitized! And that's precisely what makes it so great! Through reading it, I not only learned a little history, a little culture, and a little about music but also a great deal about the human heart.

While reading this novel, my rating vacillated between 2 stars and 4 stars.

Some parts of it are indeed quite good, but overall, I was disappointed in this Pulitzer-winning tome that is best classified as machismo misogynistic erotica.

The novel starts in the first-person POV of Eugenio, the son/nephew of the Mambo Kings, and then shifts to third-person omnipotent. The opening scene shows the womanizing Cesar Castillo engaged in raunchy sex and obsessed with his "thing". The transition between POVs is at best bumpy and not helped by Cesar's juvenile language, making readers wonder how a 10-year-old Eugenio knows so much about his uncle's lurid sex life.

Once Side A of the novel focuses on the love story of Eugenio's parents, Nestor and Delorita/Delores, it improves significantly and becomes an enjoyable read, taking the reader on a deep exploration of the Latin club culture in NYC from the 20s to the 50s. But just as the reader gets into the rhythm of the Mambo beat, Side B comes along.

Side B has potential. It begins with the shallow skipping of a rock on a placid pond, leading us into the world of Cuban families separated by invisible ideological curtains in the early 60s. The first few chapters make the reader anticipate what could have been a very poignant historical fiction novel. However, this possibility lasts only for a few chapters. The flip side focuses on the aging Cesar and his numerous conquests that would put even the most legendary lotharios to shame.

As we journey through the aging mind of an alcoholic Cesar, the ride is not smooth. The story jumps back and forth through his lonely and jumbled memories as he contemplates, with both fondness and regrets, his many graphic sexual escapades. This could have been an interesting literary concept if there was a clear point to the memories, but there isn't. A narcissistic Cesar finds little meaning in these memories and learns nothing from them. Similarly, the reader is left wondering why they should care about Cesar or his past.

There is one bright literary note that runs throughout the novel. In describing his work, Hijuleos said: "The formal idea was sort of like having a record going round and round. You know how sometimes when you listen to music and the sound cuts off and you're into another feeling? I wanted to move atmospherically. I saw the chapters as different songs...It does drift around...but I wanted that improvisational feel in part of this book, like a horn line." In this, Hijuelos succeeds. The novel has a definite rhythm, like a Mambo, which makes it interesting from a literary perspective.

I have no problem with graphic, even violent, sex in literature. I enjoyed Story of O by Pauline Reggae and my favorite novel is American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis. But Mambo Kings falls far short. There is too much repetition of the same sex scene, page after page, with different women. It's monotonous and serves no purpose. Although better written than Fifty Shades of Gray, this misogynistic collection of machismo porn has the same disappointing effect on the reader.

Good book!

This book is truly remarkable. It not only provides a vivid and detailed description of the Latin music scene but also has a broader applicability to the music scene in general. What makes it stand out is that it manages to capture a unique aspect of being a musician that I have never seen portrayed before. It conveys the sense that there is a glimmer of hope, that good things might be on the horizon and success seems just around the corner, yet it always remains out of reach. The gigs are there, but achieving the big break remains elusive.

I have to disagree with some of the previous reviews that claim this book is pornographic. While it may be raw at times, that is simply a reflection of the street talk and the reality of the music world. Without capturing that essence, the book would lose its authenticity and seem unrealistic. By the way, this book was made into a movie probably around twenty years ago. If anyone reading this has the opportunity to find the soundtrack CD, I highly recommend getting it. It's truly amazing and will enhance your appreciation of the story even further.

I almost gave up on this book, which is very rare for me. Generally, when I start a book I finish it, even if I'm not enjoying it much. But this book...

Let me premise this by saying that I'm not a prude, and I don't mind reading about sex at all. However, this book was filled with non-stop, gratuitous descriptions of the Mambo King's sexual encounters with various women. It was one lascivious detail after another, page after page. Especially at the beginning of the book, I seriously don't think you can read more than 3 pages without another description of Cesar's penis or his chick's body. And for the most part, it's not even sexy sex! At first, I was like, "Okay, we're establishing character," but then at some point, I realized that Hijuelos wasn't going to let up on the sex, despite the fact that he had done more than enough to establish Cesar's obsession with getting laid and explain to some extent why he was wired that way. By the end of the book, it just made me sad that an old man reflecting on his life would mostly just be reminiscing about boobs and bjs. Seriously, is this how often some guys think about sex? Do they really value it that highly, above literally everything else? It must be exhausting.

Eventually, the lurid descriptions of sex let up a little bit (sort of, if reading about it every 5 - 8 pages vs. every 3 can count as "letting up"), so I powered through and finished this book. Still, it's hard for me to write much else about this book just because the sexual element of it was such a dominant theme that was returned to time and time again. But I will say I think the author handled the epic nature of the story well. Despite the jumps from Cuba to Washington Heights to Hollywood and from the 1910s to the '40s to the '50s to the '80s, it was easy to follow. That takes skill. The whole mambo world was interesting to me. There was in fact a lot of beautiful writing in this book, and vivid description (which I only wish had been used more for environment and emotion and less for weiner). There were a lot of good supporting characters, almost all of whom I found more interesting than the main narrator. In fact, someone at my book club said she would love to read a response novel from the point of view of just about any of the women mentioned in this story, and I completely agree.

This is the second Pulitzer winner that I've read in the past year or so that left me wondering, "Wait, this won the Pulitzer? Why?" Like I said, there was some beautiful writing, but there just wasn't enough of a story here for me, and the book could have been about 100 pages shorter if some of the sexual descriptions had been edited out. I found myself wondering if honoring this book was more about a desire to honor a Latino writer who was depicting a slice of life that had rarely been depicted before that point, rather than a desire to honor this actual story. I suppose that's valuable in its own way, but this was still far from a hit for me.

Oscar Hijuelos' Pulitzer Prize winning book \\n  The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love\\n is a work that elicits diverse reactions. Some find it colorful and lyrical, while others deem it confusing and monotonous. For this particular reader, it firmly belongs to the former category, a rediscovered gem that was first read years ago and has now been unearthed once more. It's the third copy in the reader's possession since the original purchase in early 1990.

The author, Hijuelos, skillfully tracks a family's journey from one country to another through the prism of several generations of Latin music. The contradanza, the habanera, the son, the rumba... all these musical forms traversed from Cuba to America, undergoing transformation, trimming, and expansion to appeal to both American and Latino audiences, engaging both the ears and the feet. The story centers around Cesar Castillo, an elderly musician who once experienced moments of musical stardom. It chronicles his final hours as he sits in a dilapidated hotel room, drinking and listening to the old records made by his band.

In 1949, Cesar and Nestor Castillo were among the many Cuban musicians who flocked to New York City in search of fame and fortune as musicians. The rumba was popular, but the energetic mambo was even more so. The narrative follows their struggles, triumphs, illusions, and disillusions. It was a time when Xavier Cugat was nurturing his belief that Americans craved Latin dance music that appealed to both the eyes and the ears. And there was Desi Arnaz, the successful musician and television star, who represented the American Dream for many young émigré musicians.

This book won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1990 and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction of 1989. Incredibly, it was the FIRST Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner by a Hispanic writer.

Oscar Hijuelos, born in the US to Cuban immigrant parents, in this book delves deep into Cuban history, especially its musical history, to narrate the story of a family and the culture they originated from.

Latin music was extremely popular in mid-twentieth century America. Many artists of the habanera, rumba, and mambo followed the trendy vogue from Cuba to America in search of their fortunes. Among these immigrants were the Castillo brothers, Cesar and Nestor.

They arrived in New York City in 1949. Cesar was a charming songster with a passionate quivering baritone voice and good looks that could capture the hearts of his female listeners. Nestor, on the other hand, was quiet and introspective, with a touch of melancholy in his soul, which was due to his lost love back in Cuba. He celebrated this woman in a bolero called "Beautiful Maria of My Soul," constantly rewriting it over the years, ending up with 22 different versions.

There were numerous examples of Cuban musicians who had achieved success in America that the Castillo brothers could look up to. In fact, there was an abundance of such examples. The glamorous crooner Miguelito Valdez who sang with Xavier Cugat, Machito, the leader of a popular Afro-Cuban band, or perhaps Desiderio Arnaz with his congo drum, singing voice, and quaint accent.

Desi Arnaz and the Castillos had a lot in common. They came from Oriente Province. Desi had once worked with the same orchestra as Cesar in Cuba. He was a forerunner of the Castillos in America, arriving in the 1930s and establishing himself in the clubs and dance halls of New York. By the 1950s, of course, he was perhaps most famous as the husband of Lucille Ball and as "Desi" on "I Love Lucy."

In the '50s, the Castillos and their orchestra, The Mambo Kings, were making a name for themselves in New York. They released 78 RPM records that sold for 69 cents each and played to adoring audiences on the East Coast and other parts of the country, dressed in their flamboyant flamingo pink and black suits. They were locally well-known but never achieved national fame.

Finally, in 1955, the Mambo Kings had their moment of glory. Desi Arnaz had seen them perform in New York and invited them to appear on the "I Love Lucy" television show. They played his cousins from Cuba and performed Nestor's song, "Beautiful Maria of My Soul." Cesar strummed his guitar and sang, Nestor played his trumpet, and Desi Arnaz joined in to harmonize. It was, in many ways, the high point of their careers and lives.

We learn all of this - and much more - through the memories of Cesar at the end of his life. He is living in a hotel in New York, after a life dedicated to music and sex. The memories he shares with us are of both. We witness his performances with Nestor and other members of their band. We experience their lives on the road and when they return home - Nestor to his wife and two children and Cesar to... Nestor's wife and children and whatever woman he is involved with at the moment.

Cesar never marries but there are always women in his life. He loves women and loves making love to them. He remembers every one of them in great detail and regales us with those memories. In the end, his memories seem almost equally divided between the sexual and the musical, perhaps with a slight emphasis on the sexual.

In fact, this was perhaps my only criticism of the book. I adored the lush language of the novel as Hijuelos explored the lives of his two main characters, the sensitive and soulful Nestor and the blustering and charismatic Cesar. But every few pages, there would be another unashamedly sensual description of Cesar's sexual encounter with yet another woman and a vivid detailing of his remarkable sex organs. Okay, we understand - he is well-endowed and an insatiable lover! That aspect of the story just became a bit tiresome with all the repetition.

Nevertheless, it is a richly told, tragicomic tale of the immigrant experience that brings to life that era when the mambo reigned supreme.

Over-sexed one-hit-wonder Cesar Castillo is on the verge of death, and as he lies there, he reminisces about his life.

The novel is filled to the brim with sex and melancholy, which are the hallmarks of the Latin music that the so-called "Mambo King" played. It is beautifully written, vividly evoking the romance and passion of Cuban culture.

Cesar's memories float in and out of the narrative like graceful dancers. The novel takes on the form of a musical composition, with the memories and the enactment of an I Love Lucy episode (the high point in Cesar's career and life being when he and his band guest starred in the episode) being replayed like a chorus.

However, my only complaints are that the explicit sexual descriptions become a bit tedious after a while. As a result, the novel feels a little long and redundant. It seems that the author could have toned down the sexual content a bit and made the story more concise without sacrificing its essence.

Overall, though, the novel is a captivating exploration of Cesar Castillo's life and the world of Latin music and Cuban culture.

The original article is not provided, so I can't rewrite and expand it specifically. However, I can give you a general example of how to expand an article to about 300 words:

**Original Article**: The cat is sitting on the mat. It looks cute.

**Expanded Article**:

The adorable cat is peacefully sitting on the soft mat. Its fur is sleek and shiny, and its eyes are bright and curious. It seems to be enjoying the moment, perhaps daydreaming or simply observing its surroundings. The way it is sitting there, with its paws neatly tucked under its body, gives it an air of elegance and grace. It truly looks extremely cute, and it's hard not to be charmed by its presence.

Please provide the original article so that I can rewrite and expand it according to your specific requirements.

I made an attempt to like this book.

On one hand, it's because I consider the Latin music sub-culture of the 50s to be an extremely fascinating topic.

On the other hand, I truly do think that Hijuelos has a fine style of writing.

Nevertheless, it is simply overly repetitive and fails to engage the reader.

I suppose I was supposed to like Cesar and Nestor, but I never really managed to find out much about them.

All I know is that they are talented musicians (yes, I got that part within the first ten pages) and that they are good in bed.

I just had higher expectations when someone takes the time to pen a full novel.

It did have its moments, which is the reason why I gave it two stars instead of one.

But, to be honest, I simply didn't like it.

I wanted to be immersed in the story, to learn more about the characters, their dreams, their struggles.

However, the repetitive nature of the narrative and the lack of depth in the character development left me feeling disappointed.

I hope that future works by Hijuelos will offer more substance and engage the reader on a deeper level.

Love is an emotion of such great intensity that it can, in the end, lead to destruction. An aging musician, lost in the memories of his glorious days, takes the reader on a journey through a life filled with the rich tapestry of sound, flavor, and color.

In the early 1950s, two Cuban brothers, who are also musicians, make their mark in the Latin neighborhoods of New York City. With the assistance of Santaria, they get their big break when they appear on the "I Love Lucy Show" (Desi Arnaz being a character in the book). The novel unfolds in an improvisational manner, much like the music itself. Characters dance the cha-cha in meat lockers and clubs, with trumpets blaring loudly. They work long hours at their day jobs and turn to drink to combat exhaustion as they jam until 3:00 a.m. Their fingers freeze on meat carcasses and burn on trumpet keys. They have a penchant for voluptuous music, "not emaciated," just like their women. The story is reminiscent of Cuban cuisine - lechón, asado; arroz moro; yucca - seasoned with salt, splashed with lemon, and infused with rum.

Hijuelos, with his characteristic generosity of spirit, vividly portrays a man, his family, and his community in 1950s New York. Cesar is exuberant, while Nestor is melancholic and nostalgic. Cesar wholeheartedly embraces America, while Nestor longs for Cuba. Cesar is willing to take risks, while Nestor shies away from them. Cesar focuses on the future, while Nestor dwells on the past. In many ways, the lives of the brothers parallel and mirror the destiny of the USA and Cuba during the last half of the 20th century.