Artist: Cuarteto Caney
Author: Joseíto Fernández/José Marti/Hector Angulo
Label: Victor
Year: 1938
Cuban province Guantanamo is were the author's mother came from. Fernández was a Cuban radio personality with a daily spot on station CMQ. His gimmick was to sing the news. This melody was created in 1928, but he first recorded it in 1940 with his own orchestra (for local Guaná label). Just like the son, the guajira is a sub-genre of the cancion Cubana, praising the farmer trade. Just like the son it migrated to the city early in the 20th century.
Covers:
Joseíto Fernández [author as Mi Biografia and on the B-side as A Mi Buena Madre, both sides subtitled Guantanamera; see headnote]
Julián Orbón [see footnote]
Hector Angulo [coauthor]
Pete Seeger [see footnote]
Sandpipers [top 5 NL (this version conquered the world)]
Rob de Nijs [as Anna Paulowna]
Julio Iglesias [mentioning the real authors and in '94 in medley with Oye Como Va]
Lobos [on debut album]
Robert Wyatt [as Caimanera]
Celia Cruz [in film The Mambo Kings]
Dynamite [as Sex Met Die Blonde]
Cisco Kid [as Sex Su Blondine; hit in Lituania]
Afrocubism [with Eliades Ochoa and Toumani Diabaté]
Lyrics based upon the poem La Niña De Guatemala from the Versos Sencillos (Easy Verses) by Cuban 19th century poet José Martí. Classical singer Julián Orbón started mixing Marti's verses with the Guantanamera melody while his pupil Hector Angulo added a few lines from an old Havana song. Twenty years later, that same Angulo sang Guajira Guantanamera for children during a summer camp in upstate New York. Their enthusiasm intrigued Pete Seeger, who happened to be there as well and the rest is folk history. One of the most covered songs ever.
If you noticed blunt omissions, mis-interpretations or even out-and-out errors,
please let me know:
Arnold Rypens
Rozenlaan 65
B-2840 Reet (Rumst)