Yes, especially since its current state of abject poverty must be so attractive. Living under the thrall of a tyrant has been so beneficial to Cuba.

Lucky you. I wish I could visit Cuba before we wreck it with strip centers & casinos

Cuban Johnny Cash

I too traveled to Cuba, many times and yes, this song was just as popular as Guantanamara with all the combos I enjoyed around Havana.

One thing I've always been curious about is why this song which was written by Compay Segundo (another member of the BVSC) is credited to Eliades Ochoa?

philbertr wrote:

really cool song. It's moving

WRONG.

Nobody cares.

I just returned from Guardalavaca in Holguin Province, Cuba. This song is in the repertoire of every group of minstrels I heard.

In case you are wondering: I am Canadian, which is why I was able to travel to Cuba with impunity, unlike Americans.

Nobody cares.

Nobody cares.

I just returned from Guardalavaca in Holguin Province, Cuba. This song is in the repertoire of every group of minstrels I heard.

In case you are wondering: I am Canadian, which is why I was able to travel to Cuba with impunity, unlike Americans.

Eliades Ochoa - Chan Chan
Los Lobos - Malaque
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood

nice, really nice... 9+

Someone else posted the lyrics in Spanish. Here's the English translation as found on Wikipedia:

From Alto Cedro I go to Marcané
Then from Cueto, I go to Mayarí

The love I have for you
is something I cannot deny
My mouth is watering
I just can't help it

When Juanica and Chan Chan
sifted sand at the beach
The way she shook the sieve
made Chan Chan feel embarassed

Clean the path of straw
cause I want to sit down
on that tree trunk I see
and right now I can't get there

From Alto Cedro I go to Marcané
Then from Cueto, I go to Mayarí


Here's an explanation of the song, also from Wikipedia:

A fan that met Compay Segundo back on 1989, said...that: 'Chan Chan and his girlfriend Juanica shake a jibe to sift sand on the edge of the sea. Juanica looked so sensual shaking the jibe that Chan Chan felt shame that other people saw them.'

The most complete explanation...says: 'The song relates the story of a man and a woman (Chan Chan and Juanica) who are building a house, and go to the beach to get some sand. Chan Chan collects the sand and puts it on the 'jibe'. Juanica shakes it, and to do so she shakes herself, making Chan Chan ashamed...The origin of this tale is a farmer song learnt by Compay Segundo when he was twelve years old.'

Alto Cedro, Marcané, Cueto and Mayarí are four towns near each other in Holguín Province, on the east side of Cuba.

If you have to ask this question about Guantanamo, you are living in a cave in the Bavarian Schwartzwald.

What utter nonsense. Only someone who lives safely in a Western country could write such drivel. Tell this to the tens of thousands of Cubans who have risked their lives to flee this "paradise," as well as those brave journalists and dissidents rotting in Cuban prisons for daring to speak their mind.

Amazingly, the political Left is all about free speech until they encounter someone who truly supresses it, i.e., Fidel Castro, and then they fall all over themselves to lick his boots. I'd laugh if it wasn't so sad.

YES! I saw them with Compay Segundo and Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzales and the woman who sings on the album whose name I can't remember
.

Has anyone ever seen BVSC? They are truly one incredible outfit. Muy bonita y fabulosa!

Nights with music and salsa or in dusty bars with music from piano and horns.... *sigh*

Where or what is Guantanamo?
Thinking of the embargo: Why is Cuba not the 'paradise'?
Where is the freedom in the 'free world' gone after 9/11???