Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Telles (18 November 1907 – 13 July 2003), known professionally as "Compay Segundo", was a Cuban

trova ''Trova'' is a style of Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cuba, and earned their living by ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

, singer and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

Biography

Compay (meaning '' compadre'') Segundo, so called because he was always second voice in his musical partnerships, was born in

Siboney Siboney may refer to: Arts * ''Siboney'' (film), a Mexican-Cuban drama film * "Siboney" (song), a 1929 song by Ernesto Lecuona * ''Siboney'', a 1985 album by Slim Gaillard Places * Siboney, Cuba, a town in eastern Cuba * Siboney, Oklahoma, a ...

, Cuba, and moved to

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...

at the age of nine. His first engagement was in the Municipal Band of Santiago de Cuba, directed by his teacher, Enrique Bueno. In 1934, after a spell in a quintet, he moved to Havana, where he also played the clarinet in the Municipal Band. He also learned to play the guitar and the tres, which became his usual instruments. Compay Segundo also invented the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, to fill the harmonic jump between the Spanish guitar and the tres."Compay Segundo"
AfroCubaWeb. In the 1950s he became well known as the second voice and tres player in Los Compadres, a duo he formed with

Lorenzo Hierrezuelo Lorenzo Hierrezuelo (''Hierrezuelo La O'', 5 September 1907 in El Caney – 16 November 1993 in Havana) was a Cuban trova musician, singer, guitarist and composer. His face showed clear signs of Amerindian descent: he was an Indo-mulatto (one ...

in 1947. Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban duos of their time. Greater international fame came later, in 1997, with the release of the ''

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the gr ...

'' album, a hugely successful recording which won several

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docu ...

film of the same title. Segundo's most famous composition is " Chan Chan", the opening track on the ''Buena Vista Social Club'' album, a four-chord

son cubano Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are t ...

song. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists. Other compositions are "Sarandonga", "La calabaza", "Hey caramba", "Macusa", "Saludo Compay". These are all ''

sones The sone () is a unit of loudness, the subjective perception of sound pressure. The study of perceived loudness is included in the topic of psychoacoustics and employs methods of psychophysics. Doubling the perceived loudness doubles the sone v ...

'', and this differentiates him from the more usual trova musicians, with their devotion to the

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

. However, it seems his interests went much further: :I have danzones, waltzes, sones. I have some beautiful danzones. Why? Because I've learned from those who know how to preserve the tradition of the music. I play music the way it was played in yesteryear. I started out playing the ''son corto'' (short son). As Miguel Matamoros used to say, "The son is short and sweet."... Back in the day, they'd start out playing son at seven in the evening, and they'd greet the dawn with it. At a fiesta he sang to President

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...

, who took his pulse and joked about his vitality despite his 90-plus years. "Who could have imagined that?" he asked when he found himself at the

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

, performing "Chan Chan" before

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. He explained his longevity simply:

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

consommé and a drink of

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

. He predicted that he would live to be 115, but died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, 20 years short of his ambition. Santiago de Cuba, Compay Segundo tomb

In 2007, the 100th anniversary of Segundo's birth was celebrated with a concert of his compositions performed by a symphony orchestra in Havana with some of his musicians and sons.

Discography

*1942–55 **''Sentimiento guajiro'' **''Cantando en el llano'' **''Compay Segundo y Compay Primo'' **''Mi son oriental'' **''Los reyes del son'' **''Los compadres'' *1956–95 **''Balcón de Santiago'' **''Balcón de Santiago - Reedición'' **''Saludo, Compay'' *1996–2015 **''Cien años de son'' **''Son del monte'' **''Yo Vengo Aquí'' (1996) **''

'' ( World Circuit/

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

,16 September 1997) **''Antología'' (1997) **''Lo mejor de la vida'' (1998) **''Calle salud'' (1999) **''Yo soy del norte'' **''Grandes Éxitos'' (2000) **''Antología'' (2001) **''Las flores de la vida'' (2001) **''Duets'' (2002) Anthology of Compay Segundo's duos **'' Buena Vista Social Club at Carnegie Hall'' (World Circuit/Nonesuch Records, 14 October 2008) (live album) **'' Lost and Found'' (World Circuit/Nonesuch Records, 23 March 2015) (collection of previously unreleased tracks)

References

External links

PBS Interview (by Betty Arcos) with Francisco Repilado a.k.a. Compay Segundo.

Official site of Buena Vista Social Club

Grupo Compay Segundo
*
Biography with photos of Compay Segundo in lahuellasonora.com

Compay Segundo discography at discogs.com.
Retrieved 22 April 2016.

Listening

Grupo Compay Segundo audio samples
{{DEFAULTSORT:Segundo, Compay 1907 births 2003 deaths People from Santiago de Cuba Deaths from kidney failure Cuban guitarists Cuban male guitarists Cuban songwriters Male songwriters Buena Vista Social Club Son cubano singers 20th-century guitarists 20th-century male musicians