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 Music of Cuba, Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente Province, Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cu ...

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 themselve ...

, 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, 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 t ...

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 CI the Municipal Band. He also learned to play the guitar and the

tres Tres may refer to: * Tres (instrument), a Cuban musical instrument * Tres, Trentino, municipality in Italy * ''Tres'' (2014 film), a Filipino anthology drama film based on short stories * "Tres" (song) by Juanes *"Tres", a song by Líbido from thei ...

, which became his usual instruments. Compay Segundo also invented the

armónico The armónico, also known as trilina, is a guitar-like instrument from Cuba. It is a hybrid between the Classical guitar, Spanish guitar and the Cuban Tres (musical instrument), tres. The armónico has seven strings: five single strings, plus one ...

, 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 in 1947. Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban duos of their time. The rediscovery of his music in Spain was with the help of

Santiago Auserón Santiago Auserón, also known as Juan Perro (July 25, 1954 in Zaragoza, Aragon) is a Spanish singer and lyricist. He was songwriter and vocalist of Spanish rock's Radio Futura. Auserón has been recognized with the Aragón Music Prize for Career ...

in the 90's. Greater international fame came later, in 1997, with the release of the ''

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

'' album, a hugely successful recording which won several

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker and photographer, who is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among the honors he has received are prizes from the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, Venice International Film ...

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 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'', and this differentiates siu 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 h ...

. 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 politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, 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 (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

, performing "Chan Chan" before

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He explained his longevity simply:

mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

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 often aged in barrels of oak. Rum originated in the Caribbean in the 17th century, but today it is produced i ...

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

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), 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 fa ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club was a musical ensemble primarily made up of Cuban musicians, formed in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit (record label), World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and dire ...

'' ( World Circuit/

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

,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 A lost and found (American English) or lost property (British English), or lost articles (also Canadian English) is an office in a public building or area where people can go to retrieve Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property, lost articles th ...

'' (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
* 1999 concert recorded at SFJAZZ Jazz Fest {{DEFAULTSORT:Segundo, Compay 1907 births 2003 deaths Musicians from Santiago de Cuba Deaths from kidney failure Cuban guitarists Cuban male guitarists Cuban songwriters Cuban male songwriters Buena Vista Social Club Son cubano singers 20th-century Cuban guitarists 20th-century Cuban male musicians