We
have visited the Graveyard "Cementerio Santa Ifigenia" in Santiago de Cuba where the musician and composer
Campay Segundo is buried
He was born in
Santiago de Cuba on 18-11-1907 as
Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz and died on
14-7-2003 in Havana
He is well known to lovers of Cuban music
His first engagement was in the
Municipal Band of Santiago de Cuba, directed by his teacher, Enrique Bueno
After
a spell in a quintet he moved to Havana in 1934, where he also played in the
Municipal Band, on the clarinet
He also learned to play the guitar and the tres: these became his
usual instruments
Compay Segundo was also the inventor of the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, created to
eliminate a harmonic jump in the Spanish guitar and the tres
Segundo's most
famous composition is Chan Chan, the opening track on the Buena Vista Social Club album,
whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the World
Chan Chan was recorded by
Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists
Other
compositions are Saradonga, La calabaza, Hey caramba, Macusa, Saludo Compay
These differentiates him from the more usual trova
musicians, with their devotion to the bolero
His stage name comes from "Los
Compadres" a duo consisting of him and Lorenzo Hierrezuelo where he always
sang the second voice (segundo = second)
The real fame came in 1977 with the
release of the album Buena Vista Social Club that several Grammy Awards
won
Compay Segundo also appeared in the film of the same title that was made by
Wim Wenders
Compay predicted that he would be 115 years old but died at the age
of 95 years due to kidney problems
