The Cintas Foundation was established with funds from the estate of the late Oscar B. Cintas (b. Sagua La Grande, Cuba 1887 - d. New York City, 1957), a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts. Since 1963, the Cintas Foundation has awarded more than 300 fellowships to artists of Cuban lineage who reside outside of Cuba. The first William B. Warren Lifetime Fellow in Music was granted to Bebo Valdes. Past music fellows have included Sergio Barroso, Mario Bauza (known as the father of AfroCuban jazz), Jose Bernardo, Aldo Rafael Forte, Orlando Jacinto Garcia, Tania Leon and Julian Orbon, among many others.