Guantanamerica
Published January 21, 2005
"I am an honest man, and I come from the place where the palm trees grow...." So begins "Guantanamera," a song with a recording history as rich as the land from which it originated--Cuba. Julián Orbón is credited with combining original music by Havana disc jockey José Fernández Díaz with "Versos Sencillos," a poem written by José Martí in 1891. Díaz, who was trying to woo a girl, ad-libbed his own lyrics, which he'd sing to introduce his radio show in the 1940s. In doing so, it became a staple of his program and popularized the song in Cuba. It reached a more global audience when gringo Pete Seeger recorded his own version in 1961. Cuban musicologist Helio Orovio considers it one of the top ten songs of Cuba's musical history. Many Cubans consider it the song.
A hymn of sorts, "Guantanamera"--or "Guanatanamerica," as my friend's two-year-old calls it, is at heart about an honest man who needs to give voice to the stirrings of his soul. I think it's so popular because it's a song that even a poet who doesn't know it can personalize. Most often it's sung with the refrain "Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera," directing the singer's longings towards a country girl from Guantanamo, Cuba, but with a little help from salsa queen Celia Cruz and miseducated songstress Lauryn Hill, the Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean even managed to turned it into a dialogue between himself and "a rose in Spanish Harlem." He courts her because of love for the old tune.
During this call and response she tells him, "Yo soy un mujer sincera, de donde crece las palmas . . . y antes de morir, Yo quiero cantar mis versos del alma." She's a sincere woman from the place where the palm trees grow, and before she dies she wants to sing the verses in her heart. Standing at the bar, smoking his Cuban cigar, her star-crossed lover replies earnestly, "Te quiero mama, te quiero!"--"I want you." Everyone from the Vienna Boys Choir to Roxy Music has performed the song. Tenor Placido Domingo has recorded it backed with a symphonic orchestra, and even the Belgian's are singing it. Probably my favorite interpretation is that of José Feliciano, but it's always a great song to hear no matter the artist.
- Guantanamerica
- Published: January 21, 2005
- Type:
- Section: Culture
- Filed Under: Books: Comics and Graphic Novels, Music: International/World, Politics: Law and Rights
- Writer: mpho
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Comments on this articleComments
I have been searching for the lyrics to Los Lobos rendition of Guajira (Guantanamera) and cannot find them anywhere. Guantanamera is without doubt my favorite song of all time, in all (well, most) its forms. Can you PLEASE let me know where I can find the lyrics?
Thanks
I'm lookin for Los Lobos' GUANTANAMERA lyrics as well - has anybody found those lyrics?
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Hey, this is one of the best reviews I've read on Blogcritics! And I include my own reviews in that list. :~) No, seriously, you do what I feel a good review should, and must, do: correlate it with your own experiences, observations, life, music, movies, whatever 'connects' and then you take your time mulling over the book, the writer (or as in this case, the writer-artist) and by the time we're done reading, we get a sense of having 'heard' about the book from someone real.
I've got Palomar, the hardback collection, and it's brilliant. I'm just about to start Locas and I'm looking forward to that even more--much more cheerful and fun than Palomar, although no less serious in its intentions--and I have to tell you, your review really nails both of them. You know what you're talking about, so...keep talking, keep talking!