Guantanamera

"Guantanamera" is a Cuban patriotic song. Its lyrics come from a poem by the Cuban poet José Martí, and the song expresses love for Cuba and solidarity with the world's poor. Joseíto Fernández is credited as the official writer; he first popularized the tune on radio as early as 1929, though when it was first released as a record is not known. The music is sometimes also attributed to Fernández, who claimed to have written it at various dates (1929 is the consensus year of origin) and regularly used it on his radio programs.

Some say the song's structure actually came from Herminio "El Diablo" García Wilson, who might be considered a co-composer. García's heirs took the matter to court but lost; in 1993, Cuba's People's Supreme Court credited Fernández as the sole composer. Regardless, Fernández was the first to widely promote the song through his radio shows.

In 1966, a version by the American vocal group the Sandpipers became an international hit. It was based on an arrangement by the Weavers from their May 1963 Carnegie Hall Reunion concert. The song has been notably covered or interpreted by Celia Cruz, Compay Segundo, and Wyclef Jean.

Pete Seeger version

Shortly after the Weavers' 1963 Carnegie Hall reunion recording, Pete Seeger included the song on his album We Shall Overcome, also performed live at Carnegie Hall. Stewart Mason of AllMusic calls Seeger's recording the "definitive version." The version of the song created by Martí and Julián Orbón was used by Seeger as the basis of his reworked version, which he based on a performance of the song by Héctor Angulo. Seeger combined Martí's verse with the tune. He intended it for the peace movement during the Cuban Missile Crisis, urging people to sing it as a symbol of unity between Americans and Cubans, and called for it to be sung in Spanish to "hasten the day [that] the USA ... is some sort of bilingual country."

The Sandpipers version

The Sandpipers' commercially successful version reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It was arranged by Mort Garson, produced by Tommy LiPuma, and included background vocals by Robie Lester and narration by LiPuma. "Guantanamera" is one of the songs most identified with Celia Cruz, appearing on at least 241 of her records or compilations. Her earliest commercial recording of it was on the Mexican label Tico Records in 1968.