Xavier Cugat Autographs
Xavier Cugat (/ˈzeɪviər kuːɡɑːt/; Catalan: ; 1 January 1900 – 27 October 1990) was an American musician and bandleader who was a leading figure in the spread of Latin music in the United States. Originally from Girona, Catalonia in Spain, he spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba, before arriving in New York City in 1915. A trained violinist and arranger, he was the leader of the resident orchestra at the Waldorf–Astoria hotel from 1933 to 1949 and a prolific recording artist for 40 years. He became known as the "Rumba King." A restaurateur in West Hollywood and New York, he and his band appeared in numerous motion pictures in the 1930s and 1940s. He was also a caricature artist.
Xavier Cugat was born with the Catalan name Francesc d'Assís Xavier Cugat Mingall de Bru i Deulofeu, or, more simply in standard form with his mother's name last, Xavier Cugat i Mingall in Girona, Catalonia in Spain on 1 January 1900. He identified as Catalan his entire life. His family emigrated to Cuba when he was three years old. He studied classical violin and worked as a violinist at the age of nine in a silent movie theater to help pay for his education. He was first violin for the Teatro Nacional Symphonic Orchestra in Havana. When he was not performing, he started drawing caricatures. On 6 July 1915 he and his family arrived in New York City on the SS Havana.
Cugat regularly embellished his life history as a strategy of self-promotion, sometimes making it difficult to determine the facts of his life. For example, it was regularly reported that, while still in Havana, Cugat became friends with Enrico Caruso and appeared in recitals with him, but, in a careful analysis, Galina Bakhtiarova showed that that was impossible. Cugat's 1948 autobiography Rumba is My Life describes in detail an interaction with Caruso in Havana, apparently entirely fictional; Caruso did not visit Havana until 1920. Similarly, in his 1981 autobiography, Cugat claimed, and it was widely reported, that he was married to the star of the Cuban musical theater Rita Montaner from 1918 to about 1920, but Bakhtiarova pointed out that a well-sourced biography of Montaner shows that was not possible.
Read more about Xavier Cugat on Wikipedia
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Current items with a signature of Xavier Cugat
These are the most current items with a signature of Xavier Cugat that were listed on eBay and on other online stores - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | Xavier Cugat- Vintage Signed Photograph With His Chihuahua | $14.99 |  |
| Xavier Cugat- Vintage Signed Photograph With His Chihuahua | $14.99 | |
| Xavier Cugat- Vintage Signed Photograph With His Chihuahua | $14.99 | |
Traded items with a signature of Xavier Cugat
The most expensive item with a signature of Xavier Cugat (Signed Autographed Xavier Cugat LP) was sold in August 2025 for $350.00 while the cheapest item (Xavier Cugat Autograph, Latin Singer, Dancer, Actor) found a new owner for $0.99 in September 2021. The month with the most items sold (3) was May 2026 with an average selling price of $21.49 for an autographed item of Xavier Cugat. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in August 2025 with $190.00 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $5.28 was March 2011. In average, an autographed item from Xavier Cugat is worth $20.24.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Xavier Cugat were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
