Cuarteto Patria is one of the leading musical groups in Santiago de Cuba. I… Read Full Bio ↴Cuarteto Patria is one of the leading musical groups in Santiago de Cuba. It was founded in 1939 by Francisco Cobas la O (Pancho Cobas), director, with Emilia Gracia, Rigoberto Hechaverría (Maduro) and Rey Caney (Reinaldo Hierrezuelo la O). The original style was traditional trova, with boleros and some música campesina (countryside music). In due course, the members and the music changed. By far the greatest change was the arrival of Eliades Ochoa, who has proved to be an inspired choice.
Ochoa was invited by Cobas to become leader in 1978, and, before accepting, he got agreement to introduce new musical works into the repertoire. At that time Cobas continued with the group, and Hilario Cuadras and Amado Machado joined. Ochoa introduced the son as the staple diet of the group, and beefed up the percussion to balance the guajiro content with an African element. Even more important was his personal qualities. He is a truly outstanding acoustic guitarist, with a warm singing style. For all that, it took a long time for music lovers outside Cuba to hear about the group. Here the Buena Vista experience played a decisive part.[4] In the series of CD albums that followed the film, Ochoa played an increasingly prominent part, and this was reflected in increased sales for the Cuarteto Patría albums, and in many foreign tours for the man and his group.
The group now consists of Eliades Ochoa (leader, vocals, guitar); Humberto Ochoa (second guitar, coro); Eglis Ochoa (maracas, güiro, coro); William Calderón (double bass); Roberto Torres (bongos, conga, coro). Others who have played on some albums include: former leader Franciso Cobas de la O (second guiter, coro); Aristóteles Limonta (d. bass, coro); Enrique Ochoa: (second guitar, coro); María Ochoa (voice); Aníbal Avila Pacheco (trumpet, claves); José Ángel Martínez (d. bass); ex-member of Cuarteto Patria, and tresero Rey Cabrera. Famous old-timers have recorded with the group include: Faustino Oramas (El Guayabero); Compay Segundo and Rey Caney, who led the group for a while in his younger days. The group is now dominated by the Ochoa family, and is expanded for recordings and tours as required.
The group has toured Guadeloupe, Martinique, Granada, Curaçao, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, USA (Carnegie Hall NY), Canada, Spain, France (Olympia de Paris), Holland, Italy and Japan. In 2001 they were awarded the Premio de la música de la Sociedad General de Autores y Editores de España (SGAE) y la Asociación de Intérpretes y Ejecutantes de España (AIE) [Musical prize of the Spanish society of authors, editors and musical performers] for the best album of traditional music.

El Cuarto de Tula
Cuarteto Patria Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera
En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera
Alla fueron los bomberos con sus campanas, sus sirenas
Alla fueron los bomberos con sus campanas, sus sirenas
Ay mamá, qué pasó?
Ay mamá, qué pasó?
En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera
En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera

Alla fueron los bomberos con sus campanas, sus sirenas
Alla fueron los bomberos con sus campanas, sus sirenas
Ay mamá, qué pasó?
Ay mamá, qué pasó?
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Pobrecita Tula, Tula ha cogido candela porque se quedo dormida y no apago la vela ven a ver
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Ay mira mira llamen los bomberos llamenlos que aquí hay candela, que Tula se quedó dormida anoche y no apagó la vela ven a ver
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Pobrecita Tula ha cogido candela porque se quedó dormida anoche y no apagó la vela
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Puente
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Pobrecita Tula, Tula ha cogido candela porque se quedo dormida y no apago la vela ven a ver
El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
Ay pobrecita Pobrecita Pobrecita Tula llamen los bomberos que Tula se quedó dormida anoche apaguen el fuego

El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela

Overall Meaning

"El Cuarto de Tula" is a classic Cuban song that speaks about a fire that took place in Tula's room. The song opens with the lyric "En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera" (in the La Cachimba neighborhood, there’s a big commotion) and describes how the firefighters were called to extinguish the fire in Tula's room. Tula is portrayed as a sleepyhead who forgot to blow off the candle before going to bed, and now her room is burning.

The song reflects the importance of community and the sense of responsibility to help others when in need. It praises the hard work of the firefighters and the urgency to act in cases of emergency. It also emphasizes the consequences of neglect and how it can have devastating effects on people's lives.

Overall, the song is a vibrant and energetic representation of the Cuban 'son' style. It's an excellent example of how music can tell stories, bring people together, and evoke emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

En el barrio La cachimba se ha formado la corredera
In the neighborhood, there is a chaos and commotion

Alla fueron los bomberos con sus campanas, sus sirenas
The firefighters have arrived at the scene with their sirens and bells ringing

Ay mamá, qué pasó?
Oh mother, what has happened?

El cuarto de Tula que cogió candela
Tula's room has caught fire

se quedo dormida y no, apagó la vela
She fell asleep and forgot to blow out the candle

Pobrecita Tula, Tula ha cogido candela porque se quedo dormida y no apago la vela ven a ver
Poor Tula, she has caught fire because she fell asleep and forgot to blow out the candle, come and see

Ay mira mira llamen los bomberos llamenlos que aquí hay candela, que Tula se quedó dormida anoche y no apagó la vela ven a ver
Oh look, call the firefighters, call them because there is a fire here, Tula fell asleep last night and forgot to blow out the candle, come and see

Puente
Bridge

Ay pobrecita Pobrecita Pobrecita Tula llamen los bomberos que Tula se quedó dormida anoche apaguen el fuego
Oh poor Tula, call the firefighters, Tula fell asleep last night and they need to put out the fire

Contributed by Bella W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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