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.
La Sitiera
Omara Portuondo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dime qué has hecho
De nuestro dulce hogar
Cuna que un día
Fue la alegría
De todo aquel sitial
Lágrimas vierte la sitiería
Y es por no verte
Reina, que un día
Fuiste de aquel lugar
Ya el jilguero se alejó
De aquel frondoso algarrobo
Y hasta la mata de jobo
Nos da muestra de dolor
La sitiera se ha marcado
Y yo enamorado lloro por su amor
Y es para la sitiería
Cual si fuera un día
Que le falta el sol
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y el güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y del güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y del güiro
In "La Sitiera", Omara Portuondo sings about a woman who has left her home and the sadness that comes with it. The song touches on the theme of separation and longing for the comfort of home. The opening verse asks the woman, "Sitiera mía, dime qué has hecho de nuestro dulce hogar," which translates to "My sitiera, tell me what you have done with our sweet home."
The lyrics go on to describe the pain and sorrow that the empty home brings. The line "lágrimas vierte la sitiería" ("the sitiera sheds tears") gives the impression that the sitiera (or woman) is just as sad as the home she has left behind. The image of the jilguero (bird) leaving the algarrobo (tree) and the jobo (another tree) expressing its sorrow illustrates the desolation and emotional impact that the sitiera's departure has brought.
Yet despite the sadness, the singer longs for the sitiera to return. The final verses are a plea for her to come back and for them to be happy together once again. The mention of the timple and the güiro (musical instruments) indicates that music is a way to celebrate and enjoy life. The lyrics imply that though the past may have had its challenges, the sitiera's presence made the home a joyful place.
Line by Line Meaning
Sitiera mía
My beloved country girl
Dime qué has hecho
Tell me what you have done
De nuestro dulce hogar
To our sweet home
Cuna que un día
The cradle that once
Fue la alegría
Was the joy
De todo aquel sitial
Of that whole place
Lágrimas vierte la sitiería
The countryside sheds tears
Que tiende a desolar
That tends to sadden
Y es por no verte
And it's because of not seeing you
Reina, que un día
Queen, who once
Fuiste de aquel lugar
Were from that place
Ya el jilguero se alejó
Already the goldfinch has left
De aquel frondoso algarrobo
From that leafy carob tree
Y hasta la mata de jobo
And even the jobo bush
Nos da muestra de dolor
Shows us it's sorrow
La sitiera se ha marcado
The country girl has left her mark
Y yo enamorado lloro por su amor
And I, in love, cry for her love
Y es para la sitiería
And it's for the countryside
Cual si fuera un día
As if it were a day
Que le falta el sol
That lacks the sun
Ven sitiera por favor
Come, country girl, please
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Come back to my retreat
Y gozaremos de amor
And we will enjoy love
Al son del timple y el güiro
To the rhythm of the timple and güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Come, country girl, please
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Come back to my retreat
Y gozaremos de amor
And we will enjoy love
Al son del timple y del güiro
To the rhythm of the timple and güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Come, country girl, please
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Come back to my retreat
Y gozaremos de amor
And we will enjoy love
Al son del timple y del güiro
To the rhythm of the timple and güiro
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Rafael Lopez Gonzalez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@huguettenagakane4184
Sitiera mía
Dime qué has hecho
De nuestro dulce hogar
Cuna que un día
Fue la alegría
De todo aquel sitial
Lágrimas vierte la sitiería
Que tiende a desolar
Y es por no verte
Reina, que un día
Fuiste de aquel lugar
Ya el jilguero se alejó
De aquel frondoso algarrobo
Y hasta la mata de jobo
Nos da muestra de dolor
La sitiera se ha marcado
Y yo enamorado lloro por su amor
Y es para la sitiería
Cual si fuera un día
Que le falta el sol
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y el güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y del güiro
Ven sitiera por favor
Ven de nuevo a mi retiro
Y gozaremos de amor
Al son del timple y del güiro
@christiancastano9035
La mejor versión de la Sitiera que he escuchado. Gracias Omara, mi total admiración. Saludos desde la hermana nación de Colombia.
@paquitomartinezaledo8310
! Que voz tan preciosa ! Preciosa canción que oigo con frecuencia, me emociona... Gracias Omara por tu maravillosa voz. Desde España con toda mi admiración y cariño
@kimcarrillo4710
Just discovered this song yesterday and I can't stop listening to it. It's absolutely beautiful. Ven, Ven, Ven. ❤️🌴🌅❤️🌴🌅❤️🌴🌅
@franciscomartinezaledo3552
No tengo palabras para definir a. Omaira Portuondo . Simplemente es la perfección en su voz...
@isabellemoreauportalis5416
Omara Portuondo dit, la musique lui répond, souligne, confirme. C'est une merveille de douceur et de paix. Bonheur absolu, le sien, le nôtre.
@isabellemoreauportalis5416
Omara, c'est une voix, c'est un coeur....
@darlingkueen79
Tantos años despues y aún se me eriza la piel.
@elmacha74
Masterpiece? Legend? Classic? Help me out cause those words are not even close to describe such phenomenon....Speechless...Just Listen and smile...Imagine yourself where you want to be...This song will take you there!!
@saraisuarez3133
Qué bonito es el son cubano pero es mejor oírlo con esta voz tan agradable
@mauricioaquino7471
Omara envidiable voz, excelente interpretación