CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Mar. 25, 2008: The Cuban musician who was dubbed the inventor of the mambo is dead.

Israel `Cachao` Lopez died on Saturday at age 89 after complications from kidney failure. Lopez spent half his life in America and was considered a musical innovator who started as a classical bassist and incorporated Cuban Afro beats mixed with a healthy dose of jazz.

But it was only in the 1990s when the Cuban-American Hollywood star Andy García took up his cause that he gained worldwide recognition. Cachao's music was used in the movie, The Lost City, a film which was eventually released only in 2006 while García produced a 1993 documentary titled, `Cachao … Como Su Ritmo No Hay Dos (Like His Rhythm There Is No Other),` which put the bassist on the world music map.

Two of Cachao albums won Grammys and Cachao was given a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame. He  played with artists such as Celia Cruz, Bebo Valdes, Tito Puente, Willy Chirino, Paquito D'Rivera, Willie Colon, and his music has been featured on movies such as The Birdcage, and on the Grand Theft Auto: Vice City soundtrack.

Lopez was born in Havana on September 14 1918 and began performing at age 12.  After leaving the island in 1962, he lived first in Spain, then in Las Vegas, later in New York and, in his latter years, among the large Cuban-American population of Miami.

Lopez died after complications from kidney failure in Miami. He is survived by a daughter, Maria Elena Lopez.