Latin America
Related: About this forumStory to go with the remarkable version of "Guantanamera": 75 Cuban musicians join to play ‘Guantana
75 Cuban musicians join to play Guantanamera
Geisel Garcia August 3, 2014
We cant say for sure if a haughty peasant girl inspired the popular Cuban song Guantanamera, but we can say that the song expresses the cross-breeding of our native music and conveys it to the world in a universal tune.
That was acknowledged by Pete Seeger in 1963, when he played at Carnegie Hall the version with José Martís verses that Julián Orbón played in Havana get-togethers.
Also aware of that is Playing For Change (PFC), which has brought together 75 Cuban musicians to play Guantanamera in a version that condenses the diversity of Cuban music today.
The result is a project of brotherhood, says Luis Conte, the renowned Cuban percussionist. It is a project of humanity and emotion, of brotherhood among Cubans, of friendship and love for Cuba. We are from that place, and music binds us together.
The fact is that music, perhaps Cubas most original creation, is a product of the mixture and wealth of its roots and, above all, a living expression of identity for all Cubans.
Playing for Changes Guantanamera
The song is one of eight pieces in the DVD Playing for Change 3: Songs Around the World, produced by U.S. singer/composer Jackson Browne.
PFC went to Barcelona, Havana, Los Angeles, Miami, Santiago de Cuba and Tokyo to bring Cuban musicians together in a pluralistic Guantanamera.
Papa Orbe Ortiz, a Santiago musician living in Barcelona, says that not since the Buena Vista Social Club have so many Cuban musicians gotten together. It is an encounter between musicians in Cuba and outside, where there is no room for politics or anything else that isnt music and love.
More:
http://progresoweekly.us/75-cuban-musicians-join-play-guantanamera/
(The song was posted here by Mika, I think, when it was released. It's also included at the bottom of this story.)
immoderate
(20,885 posts)I saw Pete Seeger perform this live several times.
--imm