Song for Day 44 - "Guantanamera" by José Martí

Day 44 - "Guantanamera" by José Martí 

 "I will die, facing the sun." - José Martí

Polymath, polyglot and patriot José Martí.

       The tune was an old one, often used to present doggerel, much as we anglophones might employ "Yankee Doodle" in various parodies.  Claims that radio host Joseíto Fernández (1908-1979) wrote it are dubious.

       In the language of the Taíno (original inhabitants of the area), Guantánamo means "land between the rivers."  The words to "Guantanamera", published in "Versos Sencillos" ("Simple Verses")  in 1891, were authored by Cuban patriot José Martí  (1853-1895) as he convalesced in Haines Falls in the Catskills.  The irony of what Guantánamo Bay is today should not be lost on us. 

      The song lyrics are taken from four different poems in that collection, including a third verse that is usually omitted by modern singers:

[Poem 39, Stanza 1]

Cultivo una rosa blanca
En julio como enero
Para el amigo sincero
Que me da su mano franca.

I grow a white rose
in July as in January
for the sincere friend
who gives me his hand openly.      

      At 16, Martí was sentenced to 6 years in prison for doing less than we are doing here.  For health reasons this became exile, in which he spent most of his adult life.  The spirit of freedom in these lyrics brought Martí back to Cuba in early 1895.  He died in the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19th of that year.  From eyewitness accounts, it seems more likely that José died facing darkness--the ignorance of his oppressors--than sunlight.

      Here is a short list of the countless artists who have recorded versions of "Guantanamera":   Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, José Feliciano, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Los Lobos, The Sandpipers, and Playing for Change.  Nana Mouskouri's solo version is lovely but her duet with Francis Lalannes is a winner:

Lyrics:

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

Woman of Guantánamo, peasant woman of Guantánamo

[Poem 1, Stanza 1]

Yo soy un hombre sincero,
De donde crece la palma,
Yo soy un hombre sincero,
De donde crece la palma,
Y antes de morirme quiero
Echar mis versos del alma

I am a sincere man
from where palm trees grow
and before dying I wish
to share the verses of my soul.

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

[Poem 5, Stanza 3]

Mi verso es de un verde claro,
Y de un carmin encenidido,
Mi verso es de un verde claro,
Y de un carmin encenidido,
Mi verso es un cierro herido
Que busca en el monte amparo.

My verse is of a clear green
and of a flaming red.
My verse is a wounded faun
seeking shelter in a mountain forest.

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

[Poem 3, Stanza 2]

Con los pobres de la tierra,
Quiero yo mi suerte echar,
Con los pobres de la tierra,
Quiero yo mi suerte echar,
El arroyo de la sierra,
Me complace mas que el mar.

With the poor of this earth
I wish to share my fate.
The simple mountain stream
pleases me more than the ocean.

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera