Pedro Aguilar
Pedro "Cuban Pete" Aguilar (June 14, 1927 – January 13, 2009) was named "the greatest Mambo dancer ever" by Life magazine and Tito Puente. Pedro Aguilar was nicknamed "Cuban Pete" and . Aguilar was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He took tap-dance training in childhood and had an early career in boxing. He then transitioned to dance; creating a rhythmically complex, visually arresting dancing style that electrified audiences. By his own count he invented 100 signature foot, torso and hand movements with names like the Porpoise, the Shimmy Shimmy and the Prayer. His nickname, "Cuban Pete," was conferred on him, in 1949, at the famous Palladium dance hall in New York City, in reference to the classic mambo song "Cuban Pete" by Desi Arnaz. The moniker was endorsed by Arnaz himself. Aguilar won numerous prizes in Latin dancing during the Mambo era, together with his dance partner Millie Donay until 1956. He danced at the White House for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later for President Lyndon B. Johnson. In the 1950s, Aguilar appeared at a British Royal Command Performance before Elizabeth II. Aguilar also appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show. He was a recipient of many prestigious awards