At the beginning, when the band was formed in 1920 'septeto' was in truth a 'sexteto'. The group was formed by Guillermo Castillo, Felipe Nery Cabrera and Gerardo Martinez. Current leader, German Pedro Ibanez says that the only difference in their present music is that now they have microphones :)
In 1927 the Habanero were the first ones to incorporate brass into their lineup, when their trumpeter, Enrique Hernandez, joined the band (making it into septeto).
Hernandez din't last long - shortly after his arrival he was replaced by famous Felix Chappotin. Thanks to him today it is difficult to imagine the son without the trumpet.
By 1925 the band was invited to New York to record for the prestigious Victor label, records that would become huge hits back in Cuba.
The regime of Gerardo Machado brought the first crisis for the soneros - the dictator considered their music subversive and began imprisoning musicians. In one way his actions helped - thanks to him Habanero became more popular when they escaped Machados' clutches.
With the vocals of Gerardo Martinez and the trumpet virtuoso Felix Chappotin, Habanero released more and more hit records. In the 1940s and 50s, the band regularly performed live concerts direct from Havana's radio studios. In 1952, vocalist Manolo Fure joined the septeto. In 1958, while on his deathbed Martinez passed the Habanero leadership mantle on to Fure, who held the post until 1995 when guitarist/composer Pedrito Ibanez took over leadership from the then ailing Fure.
Today, there are actually eight players in Ibanez's Habanero, but they retain the original septeto instrumentation. Three singers: Gonzalo Emilio Moret Lupe (who also plays the guiro), Digno Marcelino Perez Martinez (maracas), and Jose Perez Arregoitias (claves), plus Felipe Ferrer Caraballo (tres), Ricardo Vidal Ferro Vicente (bongo), Faustino Sanchez Illa (double bass), and Servando Arango Garcia (trumpet).
To say that Septeto Habanero is busy would be an understatement. Within Cuba, Habanero regularly perform 15-25 concerts a month. Few bands, anywhere in the world, even young musicians, let alone a bunch of guys that in most places would be retired, have as much work. They also continue a busy international touring schedule.
In 1997, Septeto Habanero's work caught the ear of Lusafrica's Jose da Silva, the renowned Paris based Cape Verdean producer. In the 1990s, Da Silva brought Cesaria Evora to worldwide stardom with a series of now classic productions. In November 1997, da Silva brought Ibanez's Septeto Habanero into Havana's fabled EGREM studios. The result, "Orgullo de los Soneros." features the acoustic septeto's trademark sound reminiscent of the early part of the century recorded with a state of the art production. The repertoire includes nine compositions by Ibanez and lead singer Gonzalo Emilio Moret Lopez, plus four arrangements of some old Habanero classics.
"Things have changed quite a bit over the course of the century," reflects Ibanez. "Take the second track, "Se Entero" for example. It is a Lucumi song (Lucumi is the Yoruba-African religion in Cuba). This type of African music was totally unacceptable by the government, high society, and even the middle class back in the 20s. Today our music is respected at the highest level."
based on and borrowed from Dan Rosenberg's article
Cielito Lindo
Septeto Habanero Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
te vengo a ver
Cuando sera domingo
cielito lindo para volver
Yo bien quisiera.
Que toda la semana cielito lindo domingo
fuera
Una flecha en el aire... tiro cupido
Y la tiro volando cielito lindo y a mi me a herido
Es bien sabido que el amor de morena cielito lindo es correspondido
(y donde estas cielito lindo)
(este piquete va a la vena)
Arbol de la esperanza...
Mantente firme... que no lloren tus ojos cielito lindo al despedirme... porque si miro, lagrimas en tus ojos cielito lindo no me despido
Dice que no se siente... la despedida
Dile al que te lo cuente cielito lindo que se despida, del ser que adora... y vera que se siente cielito lindo que hasta se llora...
No te cases con viejos... por la moneda...
La moneda se acaba cielito lindo y el viejo queda...
Yo a las morenas quiero... desde que supe... que morena es la virgen cielito lindo de guadalupe
The song Cielito Lindo by Septeto Habanero talks about the love of the singer, who eagerly waits for Sunday to come so that he can see his beloved. He sings that he wishes every day could be Sunday so that he could spend all his time with his love. He then relates his condition of being struck by Cupid's arrow, which has left him lovestruck and in pain. However, he finds solace in the fact that his love for his lady love is reciprocated, as he states that it is well-known that any morena (brown-skinned girl) loves wholeheartedly.
The singer then asks where his love is and compares the pain of missing her to a sharp ache in his veins. He urges his love to remain hopeful and not shed tears while parting because he cannot bear to see her cry. He then advises her not to marry old men only for their money because money can be fleeting, while old age is not. Finally, he professes his love for brown-skinned women, stating that he has been in love with them ever since he found out that the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico, is depicted as a morena.
Line by Line Meaning
De domingo a domingo
te vengo a ver
Cuando sera domingo
cielito lindo para volver
I come to see you from Sunday to Sunday, and I wonder when Sunday will come, my lovely darling, so we can be together again.
Yo bien quisiera.
Que toda la semana cielito lindo domingo
fuera
Oh, how I wish that every day of the week was as lovely as Sunday, my darling.
Una flecha en el aire... tiro cupido
Y la tiro volando cielito lindo y a mi me a herido
Cupid shot an arrow in the air, and it struck me, my lovely darling.
Es bien sabido que el amor de morena cielito lindo es correspondido
It is well known that the love of a brown-skinned girl, my lovely darling, is always reciprocated.
(y donde estas cielito lindo)
(este piquete va a la vena)
(And where are you, my lovely darling?) (This pain pierces my heart.)
Arbol de la esperanza...
Mantente firme... que no lloren tus ojos cielito lindo al despedirme... porque si miro, lagrimas en tus ojos cielito lindo no me despido
Hope, my lovely darling, stay strong so that your eyes do not cry when we say goodbye, because if I see tears in your eyes, my lovely darling, I cannot say farewell.
Dice que no se siente... la despedida
Dile al que te lo cuente cielito lindo que se despida, del ser que adora... y vera que se siente cielito lindo que hasta se llora...
They say that goodbyes do not hurt, but tell those who say this, my lovely darling, to say goodbye to the one they love and they will see how it hurts, my lovely darling, so much that tears will fall.
No te cases con viejos... por la moneda...
La moneda se acaba cielito lindo y el viejo queda...
Do not marry old men for money, my lovely darling, because the money will run out, and the old man will remain.
Yo a las morenas quiero... desde que supe... que morena es la virgen cielito lindo de guadalupe
I have loved brown-skinned girls, my lovely darling, ever since I learned that the Virgin of Guadalupe is brown-skinned.
Contributed by Charlotte D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.