Guaguancó Matancero began playing in the barrios of Simpson and La Marina, but soon they performed throughout the province of Matanzas. In 1953 they were invited to play at various venues in the capital city, Havana. The group also performed live on radio and television and recorded their first 78 rpm phonorecord for Puchito Records (n. 298). The two songs were “Los beodos” (‘The Drunks’) on Side A, and “Los muñequitos” (‘The Newspaper Comic Strip Characters’) on the B side. “Los muñequitos” became such a big hit that wherever the group played, the people would call out “¡Los muñequitos! ¡Los muñequitos!” The popularity of the song eventually led them to change the name of the group to Los Muñequitos de Matanzas.