Compay Segundo

Born in 1907, legendary Cuban guitarist Compay Segundo built his early reputation through work alongside Sindo Garay, Miguel Matamoros, and Benny Moré, becoming one of the pre-revolution era’s most admired musicians. In the late 1920s he devised the armónico, a guitar fitted with an extra third string that merged the tonal character of the traditional Cuban tres with that of its Spanish counterpart. After Fidel Castro came to power, Segundo spent time as a cigar roller before resuming music in the late 1980s. Early in his nineties, his participation on Ry Cooder’s Buena Vista Social Club album brought worldwide notice in 1998, leading to the solo release Calle Salud the year after. Buena Vista Connection appeared in fall 2000, followed later that year by Flores de la Vida and by Trova Cubana in early 2001. Fresh recordings and reissues of earlier, pre-fame Segundo sessions continued to surface through 2001 and into 2002, among them Yo Vengo Aqui, Que Lio Compay Andres, Yo Soy del Monte, and Dos Leyendas de Cuba. On July 13 of the following year, Compay Segundo died of kidney failure at his home in Havana.