Arturo Rosales reflects on music and Martí ...

July 17, 2010 (Axis of Logic) - In Spanish it’s “Guantanamera”. This is a song most English speakers will have heard at some time in their lives sung by the Sandpipers, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, José Feliciano and a host of other covers. These days Guantanamo is a notorious US Military Base and prison where alleged terrorists are held without trial and no legal rights for fighting for the freedom of the Afghan people against the imperialist military machine.

What most people will not know is that this song has its roots embedded in a poem written by one of the forefathers of the Cuban revolution in 1895 shortly before his untimely death – José Martí.

Martí was killed fighting against Spanish troops in the Battle of Dos Ríos on May 19 1895 while trying to liberate Cuba as one of the last strongholds of Spanish imperial power in the Caribbean.

Here are the lyrics of Guantanamera with English translation based on the poem by Martí. Many other versions exist.

Spanish	English
Yo soy un hombre sincero De donde crece la palma Y antes de morirme quiero Echar mis versos del alma	I am an honest man From where the palm tree grows And before dying I want To share the verses of my soul.
Mi verso es de un verde claro Y de un carmín encendido Mi verso es de un ciervo herido Que busca en el monte amparo	My verse is a clear green And it is flaming crimson My verse is a wounded deer Who seeks refuge in the wood

Guantanamera, guajira, Guantanamera

This third verse of "Versos Sencillos" is usually not part of the song

Cultivo una rosa blanca En julio como en enero Para el amigo sincero Que me da su mano franca	I cultivate a white rose In July as in January For the sincere friend Who gives me his honest hand.
Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

This fourth verse is translated during the song as sung by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie

Y para el cruel que me arranca El corazón con que vivo Cardo ni ortiga cultivo Cultivo la rosa blanca

And for the cruel one who would tear out this heart with which I live I do not cultivate nettles I cultivate a white rose

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

Final verse of song, as published:

Con los pobres de la tierra Quiero yo mi suerte echar El arroyo de la sierra Me complace más que el mar

With the poor people of the earth I want to cast my luck The brook of the mountains Gives me more pleasure than the sea

Guantanamera, guajira Guantanamera

The influence of this song is not limited to Cuba and perhaps its most famous lyric has become more widespread due to our revolutionary President, Hugo Chávez Frías. Chávez is an unreserved admirer of José Martí and is inspired by his revolutionary ideals and actions to free Cuba from the Spanish imperial yoke.

Chávez often uses the lines: “Con los pobres de la tierra, Quiero yo mi suerte echar” in his speeches to illustrate his humanistic and socialist ideals:

"With the poor people of the earth, I want to cast my luck."

The chorus “guarjira gantanamera” means “peasant girl from Guantanamo” and the word “Guarjira” is not to be confused with the peninsula of the same name where the coastal borders of Venezuela and Colombia meet or with the Cuban rhythm names after its peasants.

If you go to YouTube there are many versions of this song but here we present two of them. The first one is by the group from Tenerife Los Sabandeños who, although not Latin American, make extensive use of a combination of mandolins and guitars resulting in a great performance.

The second version is by Joan Baez. Joan’s beautiful voice adds another dimension to the song and I’m sure that Martí would have fallen in love with not only her interpretation of his poem but with Joan as well if their destinies had ever crossed. It’s music to touch the soul.