Portuondo was born in October 1930 in Havana, one of three sisters; her mother came from a wealthy Spanish family, and had created a scandal by running off with and marrying a black professional baseball player. Omara started her career in 1945 as a dancer at Havana's Tropicana Club (following her older sister, Haydee). The two sisters used to sing for family and friends, however, and after a brief time in a band called Loquibambla Swing, in 1952 they got together with two friends (Elena Bourke and Moraima Secada) and formed the singing group Cuarteto las d'Aida, backed by pianist Aida Diestro. The group had considerable success, touring the United States, performing with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana, and recording an album for RCA Victor.
In 1959 Portuondo recorded a solo album, Magia Negra, involving both jazz and Cuban music. This didn't, however, mark the beginning of a solo career, and although Haydee left the group in 1961, Omara continued singing with Cuarteto las d'Aida until 1967.
In 1967 Portuondo embarked on a solo career, and in the same year represented Cuba at the Sopot Festival in Poland, singing Juanito Marquez' "Como un Milagro". Alongside her solo work, in the 1970s she sang with charanga band Orquestra Aragon, and toured with them.
In 1974 she recorded, with guitarist Martin Rojas, what would become one of her most critically acclaimed albums in which she sings praises to Salvador Allende and the people of Chile a year after the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Among many other hits from the album, she also praises the work of Ernesto "Che" Guevara in the beautiful "Hasta Siempre".
During the 1970s and 1980s Portuonda enjoyed considerable success at home and abroad, with tours, albums (including one of her most lauded recordings in 1984 with Adalberto Alvarez), film rôles, and her own television series. Her international profile was due to soar, however, in 1996.
Portuondo sang (duetting with Compay Segundo) on the album Buena Vista Social Club in 1996. This led, not only to more touring (including playing at Carnegie Hall with the Buena Vista troupe) and her appearance in Wim Wenders' film The Buena Vista Social Club, but to two further albums for the World Circuit label: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo (2000) and Flor de Amor (2004). In July 2005 she presented a symphonic concert of her most important repertoire at the Berlin Festival Classic Open Air am Gendarmenmarkt for an audience of 7,000. The entire program was specially orchestrated by Roberto Sánchez Ferrer, a colleague with whom she had worked during her early years at Havana's Tropicana Club. Scott Lawton conducted the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg.
Guantanamera
Omara Portuondo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Yo soy un hombre sincero
Yo soy un hombre sincero
De donde crece la palma
Y antes de morir yo quiero
Echar mis versos del alma
Y antes de morir yo quiero
Echar mis versos del alma
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
No me pongan en lo oscuro
A morir como un traidor
No me pongan en lo oscuro
A morir como un traidor
Yo soy bueno y como bueno
Moriré de cara al sol
Yo soy bueno y como bueno
Moriré de cara al sol
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
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 más que el mar
El arroyo de la sierra
Me complace más que el mar
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Tiene el leopardo un abrigo
En su monte seco y pardo
Tiene el leopardo un abrigo
En su monte seco y pardo
Yo tengo más que el leopardo
Porque tengo un buen amigo
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
(Dilo Compay)
(Ahí na' má')
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
Guantanamera
Guajira Guantanamera
The popular song "Guantanamera" is a classic Cuban folk song that has been covered by many artists, but the rendition by Omara Portuondo is particularly popular. The song's lyrics represent the cultural identity of Cuba, using images and metaphors to describe the country's landscape, people and their values. The song has four stanzas, each with the chorus at the end, and the verses are sung in a call-and-response format.
The first two stanzas express the singer's sincerity as a man from where the palm trees grow, and his desire to leave his verses from his soul before dying. The third stanza is a declaration against being put in the dark, being accused of betrayal, and wanting to die facing the sun as an honest man. The fourth stanza speaks of the singer's preference for the simple things in life and his solidarity with the poor people of the land, where the streams in the mountains appeal to him more than the sea.
In a larger sense, the song represents Cuba’s struggle for independence, celebrating the impoverished but proud country and its political and cultural resistance. As one of the most widely known Cuban songs and folk songs internationally, it has been widely regarded as a symbol of Cuban identity and solidarity.
Line by Line Meaning
Guantanamera
This is the chorus of the song, repeated multiple times.
Guajira Guantanamera
Guajira refers to a style of music originating from rural Cuba. This line signifies that the song is a Guajira song, specifically about Guantanamera.
Yo soy un hombre sincero
I am a sincere man.
De donde crece la palma
From where the palm trees grow.
Y antes de morir yo quiero
And before I die, I want.
Echar mis versos del alma
To express my soul in my verses.
No me pongan en lo oscuro
Don't put me in the dark.
A morir como un traidor
To die as a traitor.
Yo soy bueno y como bueno
I am good, and as a good person.
Moriré de cara al sol
I will die facing the sun.
Con los pobres de la tierra
With the poor people of the earth.
Quiero yo mi suerte echar
I want to share my fate with them.
El arroyo de la sierra
The stream of the mountain range.
Me complace más que el mar
Pleases me more than the sea.
Tiene el leopardo un abrigo
The leopard has a coat.
En su monte seco y pardo
In its dry and brown mountain.
Yo tengo más que el leopardo
I have more than the leopard.
Porque tengo un buen amigo
Because I have a good friend.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Spirit Music Group, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Peter Seeger, Julian Orbon, Hector Angulo, Jose Fernandez Diaz, Fernandez Diaz Jose
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@noraescamillarodriguez-ip2ey
En México los amamos demasiado hermanos Cubanos 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
@noraescamillarodriguez-ip2ey
Belleza de música cubana de grandes maestros.❤️❤️❤️😢😢😢
@yirisacuna3330
Cuanto sentimientos, la sensibilidad a flor de piel !!! El alma vibra ... Se estremece ... Viva la música Cubana!!! Viva Cuba y su gente!!!
@eduardorey9970
Que buena vaina hermano! Viva Cuba y su gente linda!
Son un canto a la vida!
Soy Argentino y amo toda Latinoamérica!
@josenoeperez4653
ESTA MELODIA ES UN HIMNO PARA TODOS LOS CUBANOS LO LLEVAMOS EN EL CORAZÓN VIVA MI CUBA BELLA SOY DE SANTIAGO DE CUBA REBELDE AYER HOSPITALARIA HOY HEROICA SIEMPRE
@SuperJguillermo
He llorado de sentimiento.. de alegría.. de nostalgia.. soy de Colombia Cali.. donde amamos el Son de Cuba .. cuna de la Salsa.. rejunte de todo el pueblo latino con todos los géneros musicales de nuestros países para comercializarse al mundo entero desde Nueva York como Salsa .. nunca olvidando la raíz .. Cuba.. con ese gran aporte de los Boricuas, Cubanos y Dominicanos .. después entraría fuerte México, Venezuela y Panamá.. luego Perú y Colombia .. y actualmente Francia, Brasil.. sin importar nuestra posición .. todos sentimos esta Música como nuestra y no es cosa de ahora .. la sentimos así desde upa.. por alla desde los 50s .. viva Cuba
@panayork1632
Gracias por semejante comentario tan elocuente...se ve que sabes de salsa y son Cubano....un gran abrazo desde Panamá City Panamá...Dios te bendiga hermanito...
@charinaespinosa6820
Aa
vp0 a loLadyg0aa
Ppa00a0xaho0aaa0
P0v2am0aU00
@ejjimenez3997
this kind of song unites the world...vivas!
@juanagrajales9015
Qué VIVA!!!