Benny Moré epitomized the big-band Afro-Cuban sound of the 1950s, and became a national icon with his broad range of material and his knack for catchy, original songs. This larger than life figure mixed hard living, hell raising with a musical talent second to none. He could embody the wistful nostalgia of lost love in his romantic boleros, while his mambos and rumbas remain irresistibly danceable. The manifestation of a rags-to-riches triumph, Moré's humble beginnings as a farmer palpably informed his later music in its complexity, emotion, and the dynamic combination of Afro-Cuban music with indigenous Cuban music of Spanish origin known as "guajiro music."
Jorge Luis Sánchez (distantly related to Benny Moré) made in 2006 his debut directorial, El BENNY (Cuba, 2006, 126 min), a biopic on Benny Moré, produced by Iohamil Navarro.