JOSEITO FERNÁNDEZ
Known as the King of the Melody Joseito Fernández was the author of the Guajira Guantanamera. It is the most universally known Cuban musical work. The Guajira Guantanamera is now a symbol of Cuba.
Joseito Fernández was born on September 5, 1908 in Los Sitios, a neighborhood in Havana.His life was related to music since he was very young and used to sing with friends in serenades when he was 12.Then he was part of trios with other young people and also joined several orchestras. He was also a shoemaker at that time to earn his living.
In 1928 he wrote the Guantanamera but only ten years after that the song became famous when it was included as a farewell theme performed by Alejandro Riveiro´s orchestra, in which he sang.He used to improvise different décimas in each presentation while the orchestra was performing.
Later, a company made an exclusive contract to the song Guantanamera to use it in a radio program which dramatized different and tragic events that took place in Cuba. Décimas were sung to the beat of the music of Guantanamera and made the audience think about those events. The program was on the air for 14 years.
Although the Guantanamera lost some of its popularity after the program was on the air, the song was always remembered by the people.
From 1963 on the Guantanamera started to have a significant international connotation after being sung, including some of the Versos Sencillos of Jose Marti, by the North American singer Pete Seeger at a concert on June 8 at the Carnegie Hall in New York.
Later a North American trio made the first commercial recording of the Guantanamera, which became an international hit.
Since then many singers and groups not only from Cuba but also from different countries have included this Joseito Fernandez ´s song in their repertoire.
A lot of people across the world have danced to the beat of the Guantanamera as this song is the closing moment of many Cuban shows abroad, the perfect end to a good performance.
Joseito Fernández died in La Habana on October 11, 1979. He felt rejoice at the success and aceptance of the Guajira Guantanamera.
This is a song composed in 1928 by Jose Fernández Díaz, known asJoseíto. It did not have lyrics originally, and improvised decimas were sung upon the refrain verse. Later on, Spanish musician Julián Orbónadded stanzas from Jose Marti’s Versos Sencillos, and in 1963 American folk singer Pete Seeger sang it at a concert. La Guantanameragrew to reach great international recognition.
It is now a People’s Council area in the Centro Habana municipality, Havana province. Its grounds date from the 16th century, when the lands were outside the city wall built between 1667-1668 and became the suppliers of Saint Christopher of Havana as the closeness to the Zanja Real made possible the cultivation of root crops and even fruits.
Versos Sencillos (Simple Verses)
They are 46 poems written by José Martí in 1890, gathered in a book published the following year in Nueva York. Almost all of the poems are structured as quartets.
Peter "Pete" Seeger was an American musician and singer who expressed social commitment and defense of human rights in his work. He wasbornon May 2, 1919, and diedonJanuary 27, 1914.