Faustino Oramas Osorio (4 June 1911 – 27 March 2007), better known as El Guayabero, 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 ...

singer,

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 ...

guitarist 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 ...

. Most of his repertoire consisted of sones and

guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

-sones, many with double entendres in the lyrics. His composition "Candela" gained international fame due to its inclusion in 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.

Career

When he was 15 years old he began playing the

maracas A maraca ( , , ), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas, also known as tamaracas, were rattles of d ...

as part of a septet of sones known as ''La Tropical'' made up by some friends with the purpose of enjoying and performing at the country dances. During the 1940s, he began his career as composer with "Tumbaíto", a song that was included in Libertad Lamarque's repertoire and title he used as an alias for some time. Afterwards, he composed two sones, "Como vengo este año" and "El Guayabero". He composed the latter when he was performing as

player in the ''Trovadores Holguineros'' ensemble.

Pacho Alonso Pacho Alonso (August 22, 1928 – August 27, 1982) was a Cuban singer and bandleader from Santiago de Cuba who is attributed with creating the musical form pilón in collaboration with percussionist/composer Enrique Bonne. He founded his first co ...

, the well-known Cuban musician, first heard the song and then recorded it in a long-playing record that toured across the world. Later on, the ''Orquesta Original de Manzanillo'' used the refrain in a tribute to Faustino who, since then, was known as "El Guayabero". Skillful master of the double meaning, the Cuban's idiosyncrasy, his ingenuity, witty remarks and his love for highly erotic themes amusingly disguised are some of his main features. Unlike most trovadors, Oramas played sones rather than boleros, though this was also true, to some extent, of the famous Trio Matamoros. His preferred instrument was the tres, which is a typical instrument of the son; most other trovadors such as

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 ...

or Carlos Puebla played the Spanish guitar. However, his backing groups usually included a Spanish guitar in the basic rhythm. He composed the song "Candela" of the ''

'' (1997) recording, which was a worldwide hit.

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 ...

directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, ''

'' (1999) which was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 2000.

Compositions

Oramas composed over fifty numbers. He mostly sang his own compositions, which he could perform at any length by adding or subtracting verses. His signature number was "El Guayabero"; other popular numbers included "A María Elena", "Como baila Marieta", "Compositor confundido", "Contigo mi china", "El tumbaíto", "La triguenita", "Las mujeres de Bayamo", "Los abuelos se rebelan", "Mi son retosón". In most of these compositions the rhythm and the poetical structure is rather similar. Four-line verses are interspersed with two or four repeating lines, and the whole or part may be repeated, perhaps several times. The real content comes in the language, which is amusing, human, topical, sometimes vulgar, always entertaining. Rather surprisingly, his work has not been analysed by Cuban writers until recently, although he was well known in the eastern provinces. Indeed, it is difficult to find his name in the various histories of the trovador movement.He is not mentioned in, for example, Canizares, Dulcila 1995. ''La trova tradicional''. 2nd ed, La Habana.

Discography

*''El Guayabero: sones del humor popular'' (1982, Siboney LD-224) *''El Guayabero: sones del humor popular'' (1987, Siboney LD-342) *''El Guayabero'' (1990, Siboney LD-466) *''El tren de la vida'' (2006, Eurotropical)

References

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oramas, Faustino 1911 births 2007 deaths Guaracha singers Guaracha songwriters Son cubano musicians Cuban songwriters Male songwriters 20th-century Cuban male singers Cuban male guitarists People from Holguín Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Cuba 20th-century Cuban guitarists