Portabales was born José Guillermo Quesada del Catillo in the province of Rodas, in the former department of Las Villas.
At age 11, Portabales began work as a printer's assistant in Cienfuegos.
In 1928, he made his radio debut on the station CMHI, and from then on divided his time between his work as a printer and performing.
In the beginning, Portabales sang a variety of styles -- canción, tango, bolero, son until he discovered that his listeners enjoyed the guajira the most. He thereby refined the style and developed his signature salon guajira style in which he depicted in bucolic terms the life of the Cuban guajira (the rural campesino). Portabales sang and played guitar, accompanied bass and percussion. His guajiras have a gentle, lilting rhythm, mixing elements of the traditional son and the bolero.
Portabales continued to perform and perfect the guajira in eastern Cuba (the Orient) until invited to Puerto Rico in 1936. Portabales became instantly enamored of the neighboring Caribbean island and remained there for several years, singing in theaters, clubs and on the radio. In 1939, he married the puertoriqueña Arah Mina López, a journalist who joined him as toured Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, New York, and Tampa.
In 1940, Portabales returned to Havana to perform on stage and on radio with the Trio Matamoros. He also made a successful tour of United States and took an extended stay in Baranquilla, Colombia.
In 1953, Portabales finally settled for good in Puerto Rico, where he continued to record and perform and from where he made occasional tours of the continent. During the 1960s, he expressed his opposition to the Cuban Revolution in several compositions in discreetly poetic terms.
Portabales' career was tragically cut short when he died at age 59 in a traffic accident on Puerto Rico in 1970.
Lamento Cubano
Guillermo Portabales Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
¿por qué sufres hoy
tanto quebranto?
¡Oh! Patria mía,
¡quién diría
que tu cielo azul
nublara el llanto!
¡Oh! En el susurro del palmar
de una voz de dolor
que al amor llama
¡Oh! Al contemplar
tu ardiente sol,
tus campos plenos de verdor,
pienso en el tiempo aquel
que se fue Cuba
¡Oh! Cuba hermosa, primorosa,
¿por qué sufres hoy
tanto quebranto?
The lyrics of Guillermo Portabales's song Lamento Cubano express a deep sense of sorrow and longing for the beautiful and pristine land of Cuba, which is currently experiencing tremendous distress and hardship. The singer laments the fact that despite the natural beauty of the country, depicted by the blue skies and verdant fields, tears and sorrow have clouded the once jubilant mood of the nation. He mentions the palm trees echoing the voice of someone crying out in pain and a heart filled with aching and love that yearns for an end to the agony. The lyrics show that the singer's observations of the beauty of the country bring back memories of a time when everything was better, and the nation was thriving.
Through poetic language, the lyrics of Lamento Cubano conveys a profound sense of sorrow, pain, and regret for the current state of Cuba. The singer and the song express a strong love and concern for the nation, urging its people to rise above the current suffering and reclaim the splendid life that once existed. The song is a deep and poetic reflection of the political and economical state of Cuba and serves as an anthem for the country’s rich culture, vibrancy and the unbreakable spirit of its people.
Line by Line Meaning
¡Oh! Cuba hermosa, primorosa, ¿por qué sufres hoy tanto quebranto?
Oh beautiful and delicate Cuba, why are you suffering so much pain and hardship today?
¡Oh! Patria mía, ¡quién diría que tu cielo azul nublara el llanto!
Oh my homeland, who would have thought that your blue sky would be clouded with tears!
¡Oh! En el susurro del palmar se siente el eco resonar de una voz de dolor que al amor llama
Oh, in the whisper of the palm trees one can hear the echo of a voice calling out in pain, reaching out for love.
¡Oh! Al contemplar tu ardiente sol, tus campos plenos de verdor, pienso en el tiempo aquel que se fue Cuba
Oh, as I gaze at your bright sun, your fields full of green, I think of the time that has passed, Cuba.
¡Oh! Cuba hermosa, primorosa, ¿por qué sufres hoy tanto quebranto?
Oh beautiful and delicate Cuba, why are you suffering so much pain and hardship today?
Contributed by Dylan B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@ronaldbermudez2980
Viejo querido 😢 como me haces falta, recuerdo cuando ponías está linda canción y yo la escuchaba a tu lado
@taelkfung5414
What a beautiful song, don't get tire of hearing it and get teary eyes, everytime. Like Esther Borja version.
@rosapaez5137
Es increible 😪.Su voz es un dream 😔.Saquemolo please 🙏 de esa ignorancia.
@edwardfonsec5258
Alegria para el ALMA!!!!
@mariaguillen7967
Q canción hecha para cuba describe lo a sufre el cubano
@miguelalarconzavarizealarc8552
Lamento cubano...
@ShadyCrackers
Bonito lamento...
@pioxiixoxoxo6068
Al que le place comer popo manifiesta que es la comida más deliciosa , por eso me abstengo de emitir una opinión que cause discrepancia o desacuerdo ; el que entendió entendió , esto es para conocedores.