Education
Pinelli studied piano and guitar and was a musician with the Orchestra Palau.
Pinelli studied piano and guitar and was a musician with the Orchestra Palau.
His voice was first heard on the radio waves when he was 14 years old, and a student at the prestigious Colegio de Belén for boys, run by the Jesuits. The Freemasons were raising funds for their orphanage, Louisiana Misericordia, by putting on a show at the Campoamor Theater, and they invited young Pinelli to sing. Thirty years later, his face would be the first to appear on Cuban television screens.
When he first approached Goar Mestre, the Chief Executive Officer of CMQ Radio and Television studios, for a job, he was told “he did not have the voice for radio.” The turning point in young Pinelli"s journalistic career came with his daring live coverage of the fight between two rival gangs on the corner of Orfila Street.
There, lying on the floor, he reported the bloodbath. After that, his place in Cuban Journalism was secured.
This incident began his long and illustrious career. He became known for his wit and ability to hold an audience captive.
During his lifetime, he received many honors both from the cultural community as well as from the government.
He is buried in the Colon Cemetery, Havana, Cuba.
Tony"s sons are German David Pinelli (born September 24, 1973) and Ari A. Pinelli (born June 9, 1976), who along with German David"s wife, Ana Paez (born January 9, 1966) are members of the Cuban musical group Los Tres de la Habana.