"Suavecito" is a Cuban

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

written by

Ignacio Piñeiro Ignacio Piñeiro Martínez (May 21, 1888 – March 12, 1969) was a Cuban musician, bandleader and composer whose career started in rumba and flowered in the rise of the son. He was one of the most important composers of son music; in total h ...

and first recorded by his

Septeto Nacional Septeto Nacional (National Septet), or the Septeto Nacional de Ignacio Piñeiro, is a Cuban group credited with expanding the Son musical style before Arsenio Rodríguez. It added the trumpet to percussion, vocals, and strings. The group started ...

in 1929. It is a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object ...

of the son repertoire and one of the biggest hits by the Septeto Nacional. It has been covered by numerous artists including

Cuarteto Machín Cuarteto (), sometimes called cuartetazo, is a musical genre born in Córdoba, Argentina. The roots of the cuarteto ensemble are in Italian and Spanish dance ensembles. The name was coined because the early dance-hall numbers were invariably ...

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

Orquesta Aragón Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...

and

Sierra Maestra The Sierra Maestra is a mountain range that runs westward across the south of the old Oriente Province in southeast Cuba, rising abruptly from the coast. The range falls mainly within the Santiago de Cuba and in Granma Provinces. Some view i ...

. The opening line of the song ("''El son es lo más sublime, para el alma divertir...''") has become one of the most popular phrases in Cuban music.

Background and recording

Founded in 1927, the Sexteto Nacional was directed by ''rumbero'' and ''sonero'' Ignacio Piñeiro, who decided to establish his own group following the dissolution of the short-lived Sexteto Occidente directed by

María Teresa Vera María Teresa Vera (February6, 1895December17, 1965) was a Cuban singer, guitarist and composer. She was an outstanding example of the Cuban trova movement. Career She started her career as a singer in 1911 in a theater where she sang the cri ...

. At the Occidente, Piñeiro had to learn how to play the double bass, and instrument he continued to play with his Nacional. After extensive touring in Cuba, two recording sessions in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and the addition of trumpeter Lázaro Herrera "El Jabao" to become a ''septeto'', the Nacional made its way to Spain for the

Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 (; ) was a world's fair held in Seville, Spain, from 9 May 1929 until 21 June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, C ...

, which was taking place in

Seville Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spain, Spanish autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the Guadalquivir, River Guadalquivir, ...

and saw other Cuban ensembles perform, such as the

Trío Matamoros The Trío Matamoros was a Cuban trova group. It was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (8 May 1894 in Santiago de Cuba – 15 April 1971; guitar), Rafael Cueto (14 March 1900 in Santiago de Cuba – 7 August 1991; guitar) and Siro Rodrí ...

. The Nacional's performance was a success, prompting further shows in Madrid for the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

and a contract with the record label

His Master's Voice His Master's Voice is an entertainment trademark featuring a dog named Nipper, curiously peering into the horn of a wind-up gramophone. Painted by Francis Barraud in 1898, the image has since become a global symbol used across consumer elect ...

, known in Spain as ''La Voz de su Amo'', to record and release several of the songs they played on tour. "Suavecito" was first recorded by the Nacional in Madrid on 3 October 1929, during the sessions for His Master's Voice, and released shortly thereafter. The lineup for the session included vocalists Bienvenido León and Juan de la Cruz, trumpeter Lázaro Herrera,

bongosero Bongos (Spanish: ''bongó'') are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. The pair consists of the larger ''hembra'' () and the smaller ''macho'' (), which are joined by a wood ...

Agustín Gutiérrez, guitarist Eutimio Constantín,

tresero The tres (Spanish for ''three'') is a three-course chordophone of Cuban origin. The most widespread variety of the instrument is the original Cuban tres with six strings. Its sound has become a defining characteristic of the Cuban son and it is ...

Francisco Solares González, and the leader, Ignacio Piñeiro, on double bass. According to Jesús Blanco, Piñeiro wrote "Suavecito" about a Cuban woman named Carola whom they met in New York. Following their performance in Seville, the group became popularly known in Spain as Los Suavecitos. Nonetheless, their Spanish recordings were not released internationally, so after their return from Europe, the Nacional recorded some of their songs in Havana, including "Suavecito". Such recording of "Suavecito" features Alfredo Valdés on lead vocals and was released in 1930 by

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

. According to Cristóbal Díaz-Ayala, the second recording of "Suavecito" could have been made as early as November 1929 in New York. Another version of the song was recorded by the Nacional in 1959 for Seeco. This version features Carlos Embale as lead singer alongside Bienvenido León and Joseíto Núñez. After the 1960s, the Nacional continued to record primarily their former hits, including "Suavecito", on many occasions. Recordings for

EGREM EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, Spanish for ''Enterprise of Recordings and Musical Editions'') is the national record label of Cuba. It is headquartered in Centro Habana, where its main record studios (''Estudios Areito'' 101 ...

were made in 1973, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1998.

Cover versions

One of the first ensembles to cover "Suavecito" was the Cuarteto Machín, directed by vocalist

Antonio Machín Antonio Abad Lugo Machín (11 February 1903, in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 4 August 1977, in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish-Cuban singer and musician. His version of ''El Manisero'', recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú's orchestra, was th ...

, who was the most popular Cuban singer in Spain for most of the 20th century. Many Cuban artists recorded their own versions of the song throughout the years, including

in 1963 and Papaíto in 1980. A charanga arrangement by Rafael Lay was recorded by

in 1956 for the 1958 album ''Maracas, bongó y congas''. The

Sexteto Habanero The Sexteto Habanero was a Cuban son sextet founded in 1920 in Havana. It played an important part in the early history of the genre, contributing to its popularization all around Cuba. In 1927, the band incorporated a cornet player becoming the ...

, historically the Nacional's main competitor, recorded the song in 1995. Also in 1995, a version was recorded by Colombian salsa band

Fruko y sus Tesos Fruko y sus Tesos is a salsa group from Colombia that is popular in both Latin America and the United States. It was formed in 1969 by multi-instrumentalist Julio Ernesto Estrada (aka Fruko). Beginning with ''Tesura'' in 1969, the band has recorde ...

References

{{reflist, 2 1929 songs Cuban songs Brunswick Records singles Sones cubanos 1930 singles