Who is Sonoro?
Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacionalizada", which shortly after was absorbed by EGREM. Together with RCA Victor's, Panart studios were the main recording studios in Cuba during the 1950s. Since the 1960s, they are known as the Areito studios, owned by EGREM. In addition, Panart acted as a distributor for Odeon, Musart, Sonora and Capitol Records. Its only sublabel, Sonoro, was established in 1949 and signed several trova acts such as Los Compadres. In 2016, Panart was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music (renamed Concord in 2019) as a part of its purchase of Musart. Within Concord, Panart is operated as an imprint of the historical reissue label Craft Recordings.
