Guantanamera refers to a girl from Guantanamo, Cuba, and can refer to a song, movie, and brand of cigars. The song is a patriotic piece with a simple structure, allowing for political use. The lyrics were adapted from a famous poem and became Cuba’s unofficial national anthem. Guantanamera cigars are made in Cuba and Florida.
Guantanamera simply means Girl from Guantanamo, a province and city in southeast Cuba. Guantanamera can refer to a number of things: a popular song, a less popular movie, and a brand of Cuban cigars.
The song “Guantanamera” is one of Cuba’s most famous songs and is hailed as their greatest patriotic piece. The music for “Guantanamera” was originally written in 1929 by José Fernández Diaz, who used it in his radio show. It’s unclear whether Diaz invented “Guantanamera” himself or, as is sometimes claimed, whether the basic structure of the song comes from music already seen regularly by peasants in the region.
The original text of “Guantanamera”, also written by Diaz, is about a woman from Guantanamo, the quintessential Guantanamera. The story told concerns her relationship with that woman and her eventual departure. These original lyrics are rarely used in the song, though the chorus remains. The story of the chorus, as Diaz tells it, is that one day he was on the street with friends and he took a step at a woman passing by. She was from Guantanamo, and was offended by the move, responding harshly.
One of the big reasons for the success of “Guantanamera” is its very simple musical structure. This has allowed it, over the years, to be used for any number of verses, some improvised, some prepared in advance. As a result, the song could be used for political purposes quite easily, with a catchy melody to help the chorus and the message penetrate the minds of the listeners.
The lyrics that most people know for “Guantanamera” were added later, by Julián Orbón, who adapted a famous poem by Cuban poet José Martí, Versos Sencillos. Both the poet and the poem were already hugely popular in Cuba, and when paired with a catchy, easy-to-remember tune, they created an unstoppable force that quickly became essentially Cuba’s unofficial national anthem.
A simple translation of the best-known text of “Guantanamera” reads: I am a sincere man / From where the palm tree grows / And before I die I want / To share the verses of my soul. / My cry is light green / And it’s flaming crimson / My cry is a wounded deer / Seeking refuge on the mountain, or in the woods. / I grow a white rose / In July as in January / For the sincere friend / Who gives me his honest hand. / And for the cruel one / who would tear out this heart with which I live / I grow neither nettles nor thistles / I grow a white rose. / With the poor of the earth / I want to share my destiny / The stream of the mountains / Gives me more pleasure than the sea.
Guantanamera is also a brand of Cuban cigars, made by Corporacion Habanos in Cuba. It is also a brand made in Florida by the Guantanamera Cigars Company.
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