MIAMI, United States. – José Fernández Díaz, Joseíto, the emblematic Cuban singer-songwriter who wrote and performed “La Guantanamera” was born on September 5, 1908 in the Los Sitios neighborhood of the capital, where he kept creating throughout his life.
His biographers say that at the age of 12 he was already singing in serenades with his friends from the neighborhood. He later formed amateur trios and sextets until he began to sing in various typical orchestras.
He never received academic musical training, but his harmonious voice, exquisite timbre, intonation and artistic talent immediately earned him the nickname “The King of Melody”.
He wrote and performed numerous sones, guajiras and guarachas, but his guajira-son “La Guantanamera” was, without a doubt, the one that elevated him to stardom and the one that has transcended the passage of time and borders the most.
Nevertheless, that is not exactly “La Guantanamera” that travels the world nor the one that is repeated on the Island, but the one that has verses by José Martí. In the 1950s, Julián Orbón, a Spanish composer living in Havana, covered it with the Simple verses of the Apostle. In 1962, the musician Héctor Ángulo, who received a scholarship in the USA, sang that version at a summer camp, where Pete Seeger heard it and recorded it shortly after. Joseíto himself would sing the version of his song, incorporating Martí’s verses so well known on the Island.
Joseíto is also the author of other well-known songs, such as “Elige tú, que canto yo”, “Amor de madre”, “Demuéstrame tú” and “ Así son, boncó”.
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