Latamblé was born on June 27, 1916, in the Loma del Chivo neighbourhood of Guantánamo, Cuba, to Marcelino Latamblet y Mariana Veranes. He learned tres from his father and became a very active player from a very young age, despite his mother's wishes that he pursue a different career. Although he would work as a house painter and turbine oiler, he devoted his life to changüí, a music style that preceded the son cubano.