Marquetti was born at 277 Velarde Street, El Cerro, Havana, Cuba. He was the son of Mercedes Díaz Campos and David "El Lucumí" Marquetti Suárez, an Abakuá member of Los Chinos Buenos, a mixed band whose members dressed as Chinese. He grew up in the Havana neighborhoods of San Juan de Dios and Cayo Hueso. He started his career in 1926 with a sexteto, Minerva. He joined the and the Ernesto Muñoz Conjuncto in 1930 as singer of danzons. He then joined a number of septetos, among them , led by with whom he recorded in 1940. This was followed by stints with Septeto Hatuey, Septeto Facenda and the famous Septeto Habanero. He is also said to have been a member of Septeto Cuba, Alabama de Abelardo Barroso, Jóvenes del Cayo, Dandy del 40, La Sonora Piñón and Septeto Mora. In an effort to achieve wider recognition he left Cuba for Mexico in the mid forties. Only mildly successful, he returned in 1953. Back in Havana he joined Orquesta Sensación, led by Rolando Valdés. This engagement was followed by temporary stints at a group whose fame survives today, Chappottín y sus Estrellas, whose members at the peak of their success and fame were Félix Chappottín, :es:Miguelito Cuní|Miguelito Cuní, René Álvarez, Lilí Martínez and , as well as Marquetti. Between 1955 and 1957 he had his own conjunto, , with whom he recorded a couple of albums for Panart. He also made appearances in a number of Mexican movies, including Cuñado los hijos se van, Chucho el remendado and Mujeres del teatro. In 1957, he traveled to Venezuela and on his return rejoined . In 1958, he left the group and formed another conjunto for more recordings. In 1961, he dissolved his group to move to Panama. He returned to Havana in 1963. After his return he was an occasional contributor to Grupo Tutankamen. He died in relative obscurity in ElCerro, Havana, Cuba, at the relatively young age of 57.
Cheo Marquetti is a real "singer's singer" with a beautifully lyrical and expressive voice. Contemporary vocalists and musicians such as Henry Fiol count him as a major influence. A few compilations of Cheo Marquetti's solo recordings have recently been reissued.
