Llegó a ser un popular compositor e intérprete, muy conocido entre los amantes de la música cubana. Comenzó tocando la guitarra, el clarinete y el bongó. Fue el inventor del armónico, un instrumento de siete cuerdas, entre la guitarra española y el tres cubano. También tocó la tumbadora.
Comenzó su carrera musical muy joven cuando compuso sus primeras canciones y tocaba en grupos de Santiago con su conocido armónico. Pero su fama internacional le llegó en 1997 con su participación en el disco Buena Vista Social Club, el cual ganó varios premios Grammy. Compay Segundo apareció también en la película del mismo nombre realizada posteriormente por Wim Wenders.
En los últimos años actuó ante millones de espectadores y grabó nueve discos. No pudo cumplir su sueño de llegar a la edad de 116 años, en la cual murió su abuela. Falleció en La Habana debido a una insuficiencia renal con 95 años.
La canción más importante de Compay Segundo es "Chan Chan".
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Compay Segundo (November 18, 1907 – July 13, 2003), was a Cuban musician and songwriter.
Segundo was born Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz and brought up in the city of Santiago de Cuba. He became a songwriter and performer, well-known to fans of Cuban music. He was also the inventor of the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument.
In his early years he played the guitar, the clarinet and the bongos. He also played the congas.
His curious stage name derives from the fact that he played second voice in a popular duet of the 1950s called Los Compadres (compadre, or compay for short, in Cuba means "baptism brother", but as a colloquialism is used also to designate a good friend).
However, international fame only came in 1997 with the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several Grammy awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the film of the same title, made subsequently by Wim Wenders.
His most famous composition is "Chan Chan", the opening track on the Buena Vista Social Club album, whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the world. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists.
At a fiesta he sang to Presidente Fidel Castro, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. "Who could have imagined that?" he asked when he found himself at the Vatican City, performing "Chan Chan" before Pope John Paul II. He explained his longevity simply: mutton consommé and a drink of rum.
He predicted that he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana, twenty years short of his ambition, and three days before Celia Cruz.
Huellas Del Pasado
Compay Segundo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cuna brillante de mi primer amor
Jardín hermoso recuerdo del pasado
Cuna brillante de mi primer amor
Fuiste testigo de la, de las miles palabras de la, de la mujer farsante
Que mansilló mi honor
Por eso te recuerdo
Y vengo a visitarte
The lyrics to Compay Segundo's song "Huellas del Pasado" capture the nostalgia and sentimentality of revisiting a place from one's past. The opening lines describe a beautiful garden that serves as a cherished memory of the singer's youth and first love. However, the tone of the song takes a darker turn as the garden is also associated with a painful experience - a woman who deceived and dishonored the singer.
Despite the negative association, the singer still feels compelled to return to the garden and pay his respects. The lyrics suggest that revisiting the past can be a bittersweet experience - it can evoke happy memories of love and youth, but also bring up painful reminders of loss and betrayal. Compay Segundo's deep, raspy voice adds a sense of gravity and depth to the melancholic lyrics, making "Huellas del Pasado" a poignant reflection on the power of memory and the weight of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Jardin hermoso recuerdo del pasado
Beautiful garden, a memory of the past
Cuna brillante de mi primer amor
Shining cradle of my first love
Jardín hermoso recuerdo del pasado
Beautiful garden, a memory of the past
Cuna brillante de mi primer amor
Shining cradle of my first love
Fuiste testigo de la, de las miles palabras de la, de la mujer farsante
You witnessed the countless false words of the deceitful woman
Que mansilló mi honor
Who tarnished my honor
Por eso te recuerdo
That's why I remember you
Y vengo a visitarte
And I come to visit you
Writer(s): F. REPILADO
Contributed by Grayson G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@rubenlopez1215
Està es como una original de ese genio Que fuè compaay segundo.
Hay Dios santo Que nos diste esos temas para deleitarnos.
@elmikycu
que temaso este . !! mis respeto a este gran autor de la musica......el gran compay ..
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@marioosambela8033
Tremenda canción, extraordinaria letra.
@ligiacoelho5940
lindooooo
@mariafajardo6693
😍😍
@cesarchango6642
La interpretacion con Pablo Milanes tiene mas cademcia musical.Pero el Compay unico e irrepetible.Desde Quito Ecuador.
@MrJuanacus
No one steals my cheese
@ramonaleyba319
Y.mi hermano ya fallecidos r