Guantanamera (Guajira Guantanamera)

The song which identifies Cubans most is definitely La Guantanamera. The song is based on "Versos Sencillos", a poem written by Jose Martí, who continues to impact Cubans and others alike, through his positive mark left in both literature and history.

La Guantanamera, as we know it today, was written by Julián Orbón, who combined Joseito Fernandez Diaz's original music with José Martí's lyrics. Martí was a writer and intellectual who died in 1895 fighting for Cuba's independence from Spain. His immensely popular verses were combined with the chorus in a way that suggests the song is addressed to a young woman from Guantanamo on the southern tip of the island.

The full title of the song is Guajira Guantanamera, and its first couplet begins with a fragment from the "Versos Sencillos", or "simple verses":

Yo soy un hombre sincero de donde crece la palma....
(I am an honest man that comes from where the palm trees grow.