When Paquito Hechavarria and German Pifferrer were kids, mambo was new and Dámaso Perez Prado ruled. “I remember when I was little, I used to sit at the piano,” says the 62-year-old Hechavarria, ...

“Mambo No. 5,” by the way, dates back to 1949; it was originally written by Cuban bandleader, musician, and composer Damaso Perez Prado, AKA “The King of Mambo.” Lou Bega’s version popularized it for ...