Los Compadres - grupo musical; grabación de sonido - TT: Los Compadres - TA: music group; sound recording - Artículo Breve

Latin Beat Magazine, Nov, 1999

Cosas De Mi Cuba

(Tumbao)

The duo Los Compadres was formed in the late 1940s, when the inventor of the 7-string armónica guitar, Francisco Repilado (alias Compay Segundo), joined forces in Havana with his cousin, guitarist and lead vocalist Lorenzo Hierrezuelo (alias Compay Primo)(1), to create a style of authentic son rooted in the rural traditions of their native Oriente Province. Los Compadres' initial compaternity, however, only lasted six years. By the mid-50s, Compay Primo's much younger sibling, Reynaldo Hierrezuelo, aka Rey Caney (an apparent monarchical reference to El Caney, the hometown of the Hierrezuelo dynasty), took over Compay Segundo's spot as tresero and secondary vocalist of Los Compadres.

Recorded in Havana in 1960 and reissued by my favorite Frenchman's revivalist label, (Tumbao) Cosas De Mi Cuba consists mostly of sones authored by Compay Primo, one of those rare 20th Century Cubans of partial Amerindian ancestry(2). His spontaneous and picaresque soneos, deeply rooted in the poetic Spanish décima tradition, are complemented by King Caney's compatible vocal support. Listening to Macusa and Yo No Quiero Llanto, for instance, one comprehends why Los Compadres became the most popular guitar duo in the history of the Caribbean. (LT)

1. Compay is an apocopation of the untranslatable term compadre (the Spanish word by which the godfather and godmother address the father of their godson or daughter, and by which the father and mother address the godfather). Compay is most commonly used in the eastern regions of Cuba.

2. It has been alleged that his grandmother was one of the last surviving members of the now-extinct Siboney tribe.