All-female Cuban dance band. The original orchestra was founded in 1930s Ha… Read Full Bio ↴All-female Cuban dance band. The original orchestra was founded in 1930s Havana by Cuchito Castro and her sisters. Eventually, all 11 sisters joined the band.
The band was formed during the Machado era when the political situation led to university closings, forcing Cuchito Castro to abandon her studies and her plan to start a dental practice. Instead, in 1932, she chose a different career by proposing a female septet to challenge the male-dominated son music. At the time, it was believed women were not capable of playing son. Cuchito's friends and sisters came together as a group, naming it after the Indian queen Anacaona. Performing on the radio and also nightly in the aires libres, the open-air cafes, they soon found an enthusiastic audience. The members of the original 1932 septet were Isabel Alvarez, Berta Cabrera, Elia O'Reilly, and four Castro sisters - Ada, Bola, Cuchito and Ondina. With concerts in 1938 in New York and Paris and films in Mexico, Anacaona rose to international fame, but they faded to obscurity after the Cuban Revolution.
Alicia Castro's "Queens of Havana: The Amazing Adventures of the Legendary Anacaona, Cuba's First All-Girl Dance Band" (Grove Press, 2007) is a history of the band which concentrates on the band's early period. The British edition is titled Anacaona: The Adventures of Cuba's Most Famous All-Girl Orchestra.
The band was reorganized in 1988. Five Castro sisters chose to leave the band, which is still active under the lead of Georgia and Doris Aguirre, the band's bassists.

Mentiras
Anacaona Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Esas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miTe cuentan que me vieron paseando en la ciudad
Con una ropa fina y con cara de galan

Mirando a todas la chicas pasar frente a mi
Pero eso es imposible yo nunca estube alliCuando no estas conmigo yo me porto bien
Me quedo encerrado viendo la tv
No salgo ni a la esquina ni hablo con mi vecina
Aun que no te lo niego sigue estando divinaEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miMe dices que me viste en una pagina web
Con dos jevas al lado y una birra tambien
Que estaba muy contento y como distraido
Te juro yo a esa hora estaba mas que dormidoNo se de que me hablas yo no se que pasa
Yo siempre por ahi yo tranquilo en mi casa
Leyendome unos libros pa' poder comprender
Como debo tratarte y entenderte mujerEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli
Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a miEsas son puras mentiras
Esa noche yo no andaba alli

Debes estar confundida
O habia un tipo igualito a mi

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Anacaona's song "Mentiras" are about a man denying accusations of infidelity. He insists that he was not seen with other women, nor was he out late in the city strutting around in fancy clothes. He claims that when he is not with his partner, he behaves himself and stays at home, reading books, and trying to learn how to improve the way he treats his partner. He tells his partner that she must be confused or perhaps saw a man who looked like him. Throughout the song, the man assures his partner that the rumors of his infidelity are simply lies.

Line by Line Meaning

Esas son puras mentiras
These are pure lies

Esa noche yo no andaba alli
I wasn't there that night

Debes estar confundida
You must be confused

O habia un tipo igualito a mi
Or there was a guy identical to me

Te cuentan que me vieron paseando en la ciudad
They tell you they saw me walking around the city

Con una ropa fina y con cara de galan
With fine clothes and a handsome face

Mirando a todas la chicas pasar frente a mi
Watching all the girls pass by me

Pero eso es imposible yo nunca estube alli
But that's impossible, I never was there

Cuando no estas conmigo yo me porto bien
When you're not with me, I behave well

Me quedo encerrado viendo la tv
I stay locked up watching TV

No salgo ni a la esquina ni hablo con mi vecina
I don't even go to the corner or talk to my neighbor