"Guantanamera" (pronounced[ɡwantanaˈmeɾa];
Spanish for 'The woman from
Guantánamo')[1] is a
Cuban patriotic song, which uses a
poem by the Cuban poet
José Martí for the lyrics. The official writing credits have been given to
Joseíto Fernández, who first popularized the song on radio as early as 1929 (although it is unclear when the first release as a record occurred). In 1966, a version by American vocal group
the Sandpipers, based on an
arrangement by
the Weavers from their May 1963 Carnegie Hall Reunion concert, became an international hit. The song has notably been covered or interpreted by
Pete Seeger,
Celia Cruz,
Compay Segundo and
Wyclef Jean.
Music
The music for the song is sometimes also attributed to Joseíto Fernández,[1][2] who claimed to have written it at various dates (consensus puts 1929 as its year of origin), and who used it regularly in one of his
radio programs. Some[who?] claim that the song's structure actually came from Herminio "El Diablo" García Wilson, who could be credited as a co-composer. García's heirs took the matter to court decades later, but lost the case; the
People's Supreme Court of Cuba credited Fernández as the sole composer of the music in 1993. Regardless of either claim, Fernández can safely be claimed as being the first to promote the song widely through his radio programs.[3]
Pete Seeger version
Shortly after the Weavers'
Carnegie Hallreunion concert recording in May 1963,
Pete Seeger included the song on his album We Shall Overcome, which was also performed live at Carnegie Hall. Seeger's recording is described by Stewart Mason at
AllMusic as the "definitive version" of the song.[4][5]
The version of the song created by Martí and Orbón was used by Seeger as the basis of his reworked version, which he based on a performance of the song by Héctor Angulo. Seeger combined Martí's verse with the tune,[citation needed] with the intention that it be used by the
peace movement at the time of the
Cuban Missile Crisis. He urged that people sing the song as a symbol of unity between the American and Cuban peoples, and called for it to be sung in
Spanish to "hasten the day [that] the USA ... is some sort of bilingual country."[6]
The most commercially successful version of "Guantanamera" in the English-speaking world was recorded by the
easy listening vocal group
the Sandpipers in 1966. Their recording was based on the Weavers' 1963 Carnegie Hall reunion concert rendition and was arranged by
Mort Garson and produced by
Tommy LiPuma. In addition to the group's vocals, the version includes
Robie Lester on background vocals and narration by producer LiPuma.[8] It reached No. 9 on the BillboardHot 100[9] and No. 7 on the
UK Singles Chart.[10]
"Guantanamera" is one of the songs most commonly identified with Cuban singer
Celia Cruz (1925–2003). It appears on at least 241 different records or compilations of hers,[19] her earliest commercial recording of it being on the Mexican label Tico Records[20] in 1968. She mentions her special memories of singing "Guantanamera" nine times in her posthumous 2004 autobiography.[21]
Wyclef Jean's version of the song is not a cover of the original, but an incorporation with additional lyrics/music.[23] The album version of the song featured singing by Jeni Fujita alongside
Celia Cruz (who re-recorded her vocals for the song), with an additional rap verse by
Lauryn Hill.[24]
The tune of this song is a commonly used in British
football chant, such as "There's only one [insert player/manager name]". For example, it was used for
Paul Gascoigne ("There's only one Paul Gascoigne"), but modified for
Gary Stevens ("There's only two Gary Stevens") since there were two players of the
same name active at the same time.[38] Other chants using the same tune include "You only sing when you're winning", and "You're getting
sacked in the morning".[39] It is also used on the soundtrack of Pro Evolution Soccer 2014, a football video game developed and published by
Konami.
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum's 2019
television commercial campaign also features this chant.[40] Real Madrid also use this tune to sing "Reyes de Europa".
On the American sitcom series of Gimme a Break!'s third season episode "
Samantha's Protest", Samantha (
Lara Jill Miller) leads a protest with other protesters against the demolition of a local historic Spanish site with the first few phrases of the song, which even the site's new owner (Abraham Alvarez) – who happens to be Hispanic – joins in momentarily before stopping himself. [45]
On the Saturday Night Live episode of October 27, 1990,
Patrick Swayze and
Dana Carvey perform a fake ad about a fake compilation album called "Super Feud" show in which two famous singers, Valendez and Montenero, brag about how much fan mail they receive - starting with "one ton of fan mail," followed by "two tons of fan mail" - to the tune of Guantanamera. [46]
Pakistani pop star
Alamgir recorded an adaptation in the 1980s interspersed with unrelated
Urdu lyrics, titled Albela Rahi, which has become an informal signature tune and title for the singer (now based in the United States).[47]
In a flashback scene on season 3 episode 3 of Money Heist, Berlin (
Pedro Alonso) danced to the song recording by Compay Segundo after telling the Professor his plan of breaking into the vault of gold bars at the
Bank of Spain.[48]
References
^
abCheal, David (March 13, 2015).
"The Life of a Song: 'Guantanamera'". Financial Times. Financial Times Ltd. Retrieved May 22, 2016. His chorus sings the praises of a guajira (peasant woman) from Guantánamo (the Guantanamera of the title)