Guayabero

Faustino Oramas was a sonero from Holguin, Cuba. "Was", because he died in March 2007, at the age of 96, and after a musical career of 81 years. He was nicknamed "El Guayabero", a reference not to his profession (guayabero = vendor of guava), but to a village halfway between Holguin and Santiago de Cuba, where Faustino as he stated "went to earn a living and almost encountered death". He was attacked by the husband of a brownhaired girl who flirted with him, and had to run for his life. On the way back home, the musicians travelling with him sang a song by Pacho Alonso, "En Guayabero", to tease him.

Known in Cuba as 'el rey del doble sentido', his lyrics are full of Cuban idiosyncrasies, of mishaps and -understandings. "Everything about me is serious", he once claimed, "I don't say what the people think I'm saying. I am very respectful, although I can sing one thing and the public will understand another".

He didn't start composing until he was forty, and has not recorded as many records as the length of his career would suggest. In fact, in Cuba I could hardly find any of his recordings, while everybody knew him and could sing his songs.

Here is one of his lp's, released in 1987. I won't attempt to translate tracks or dissect the meaning of the songs. Even if one doesn't (fully) understand his songs, there is plenty to enjoy. For one, Faustino's dry singing style, combined with the thoroughly Cuban sons.

Siboney - Egrem LD-342 (new link November 10, 2012)

De la calle

If any artist in Cuba can be labelled "de la calle" (from the street), I am sure it must be Candido Fabre. His following can be mainly found, not amongst the reggaeton loving younger generation, but with the housewives and mothers of Cuba. They will go out of their way to see a concert of this sonero, who will turn 50 this year.

He was born in the province of Santiago de Cuba, in very musical surroundings, and from a very young age he started singing in schools and in the streets. Although even at that age his voice was strangely hoarse and certainly no way near 'belcanto', he was popular from the start, especially for the content of his songs. He would change the lyrics of the hits of the day, improvising as he went along. Over the years Fabre's improvisation skill have earned him the title of Cuba's most versatile sonero.

His talent ripened during his ten years (from 1983 to 1993) with the Original de Manzanillo, where he was the number one composer. His compositions have been covered by a wide range of artists and orchestras, including Los Van Van, Aragon and Celia Cruz.
He himself doesn't consider himself a composer: "To be a good sonero you have to be a good improvisor first, - plus a good creator".

If you ask around in Cuba (and, as I said, ask the mothers) you won't find it hard to dig up some bootleg recordings of a local concert by Fabre and his banda. The tracks I am posting here are mainly from a concert during the 2005 carnival in Camagüey*.

Fabre - Camagüey

And, to give you an idea of his talent as an improvisor, here is an excerpt from a documentary by the Tunesian director Karim Dridi about another sonero from the 'calle', Miguel Del Morales a.k.a. 'El Gallo', featuring Fabre playing baseball, Cuba's national sport and a subject of quite a few of Fabre's songs.


*By the way: I don't advise you to visit Camagüey as a tourist during carnival (end of June). Unlike the rest of the year, it is certainly not safe.

The Godfather

Cuco Valoy started his extensive musical career with his brother Martin. The duo went by the name of Los Ahijados, which can mean "the godsons" or "the foster sons". This must be a reference to the legendary Cuban son duo Los Compadres, who they considered to be their musical padres.

Cuco later set off on a slightly different road, with his band Los Virtuosos and later La Tribu.

Lately he is better known in his native Dominican Republic as the father of Ramón Orlando (one of his fourteen sons).

Maybe I am looking in the wrong place, but the albums of Los Ahijados appear to be very hard to find. That's a pity, as I am sure you will agree after listening to this wonderful double album. It's filled with the unique Ahijados mix of son and merengue. As an added bonus this album contains some brilliant tracks featuring an organ. My (most) favorite tracks are 'Dos Almas' (Two souls) (which I only knew as a kind of chachacha by Sonora Matancera) and 'Solito Con Las Estrellas' (Alone with the stars).

CD 1349/1350-2 (new link April 12, 2015)

El Sonero

Laba Sosseh is perhaps not the best sonero to come out of Africa, he does have some of the best recordings. And he has inspired and still inspires a great number of other singers.

Examples of these great recordings have been released on CD, notably on the Dakar Sound label.
I especially like the sweaty ambiance of the live tracks.

"El Sonero De Africa" which was released in the 1970s on the Senegalese N'Dardisc label has a very different sound, but still is one of my favorite Laba Sosseh albums. It contains some superb covers of classic Cuban sons (including an near ecstatic version of "Guantanamo"), plus one track ("Mama Yassima") which the sleeve contributes to Laba Sosseh himself, but which -if I am not mistaken- is in fact by Jean-Serge Essous.

Here is the album.

La Trova de Camagüey

In the centre of Camagüey, Cuba, on a pleasant square is the Trova. Maybe it's not so hot as the one in Santiago, but it does have one of the best orchestras, - of the tourist hotspots, that is....

Founded in 1936 Los Soneros de Camacho is at present led by the father of Adalberto Alvarez, who plays tres. My personal favorite is the singer, whose name I don't know but who locals referred to as El Pingüino. In this video he demonstrates how to dance well without exerting oneself.

I recorded this in January 2005, but I can't remember too much of that night because we finished off two bottles of Havana Club......