Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo (November 18, 1907 – July 13, 2003) was a Cuban musician and songwriter.

Born Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz in the town of Siboney, in the East of Cuba, he moved to the city of Santiago de Cuba at age 9. In his early years he played the guitar, the clarinet, the bongos, and the congas. He became a songwriter and performer, well-known to fans of Cuban music as the second voice and tres player for Los Compadres, a group he formed in 1948 with Lorenzo Hierrezuelo.

Compadre, or compay for short, in Spanish indicates the relationship between a godfather and the parents of the godchild; thus someone's "compadre" is the godfather of his or her offspring, "comadre" being the female version; as a colloquialism the term designates a good friend).

Los Compadres were one of the most successful Cuban bands of their time. Their music still enjoys considerable popularity in the Spanish speaking Caribbean. Greater international fame came first in 1994, when he went to Spain, then later in 1997, with the release of the Buena Vista Social Club album, a hugely successful recording which won several Grammy awards. Compay Segundo appeared in the film of the same title, made subsequently by Wim Wenders.

Segundo's most famous composition is "Chan Chan", the opening track on the Buena Vista Social Club album, whose four opening chords are instantly recognizable all over the world. "Chan Chan" was recorded by Segundo himself various times as well as by countless other Latin artists.

At a fiesta he sang to President Fidel Castro, 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, performing "Chan Chan" before Pope John Paul II. He explained his longevity simply: mutton consommé and a drink of rum.

He predicted that he would live to be 115, but died of kidney failure in Havana, twenty years short of his ambition.

Compay Segundo was also the inventor of the armónico, a seven-stringed guitar-like instrument, created to eliminate a harmonic jump in the spanish gitaur and the tres.

In 2007, the hundredth anniversary of Segundo's birth was celebrated with a concert of his compositions performed by a symphony orchestra in Havana.

Discography

• 1942-1955
  • "Sentimiento guajiro"
  • "Cantando en el llano"
  • "Compay Segundo y Compay Primo"
  • "Mi son oriental"
  • "Los reyes del son"
  • "Los compadres"

• 1956-1995
  • "Balcón de Santiago"
  • "Balcón de Santiago - Reedición"
  • "Saludo, Compay"

• 1996-2002
  • "Cien años de son"
  • "Son del monte"
  • "Buena Vista Social Club"
  • "Antología" (1997)
  • "Lo mejor de la vida"
  • "Calle salud" 1999
  • "Yo soy del norte"
  • "Antología" (2001)
  • "Las flores de la vida"
  • "Duets" 2002 Anthology of Compay Segundo's duos

Fidel Castro

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban revolutionary leader who served as the country's 22nd president and led the country from January 1959 until his retirement in February 2008. Castro began his political life with nationalist critiques of Batista, and of United States political and corporate influence in Cuba. He gained an ardent, but limited, following and also drew the attention of the authorities. He eventually led the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which he was captured, tried, incarcerated and later released. He then traveled to Mexico to organize and train for the guerrilla invasion of Cuba that took place in December 1956.

He came to power in an armed revolution that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and was shortly thereafter sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba. In 1965 he became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became President of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces.

Following intestinal surgery from an undisclosed digestive illness believed to have been diverticulitis, he transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger brother Raúl Castro, on July 31, 2006. On February 19, 2008, five days before his mandate was to expire, he announced he would neither seek nor accept a new term as either president or commander-in-chief. On February 24, 2008, the National Assembly elected Raúl Castro to succeed him as the President of Cuba. Fidel Castro remains First Secretary of the Communist Party.

Mojito

Mojito is a traditional Cuban highball.

A mojito is traditionally made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime, carbonated water and mint. Its combination of sweetness and refreshing citrus and mint flavors are intended to mask the potent kick of the rum, and have made this clear highball a popular summer drink. Many hotels in Havana also add Angostura bitters to cut the sweetness of the mojito; while a popular variation, it is not the original version created in La Bodeguita del Medio.

When preparing a mojito, lime juice is added to sugar (or syrup) and mint leaves. The mixture is then gently mashed with a muddler. The mint leaves should only be bruised to release the essential oils and must not be shredded. Then rum is added and the mixture is briefly stirred to dissolve sugar. Finally, the drink is topped with ice cubes and sparkling water, mint leaves and lime wedges are used to garnish the glass.

The mojito is one of the more famous rum-based highballs in the world. There are several different versions of the mojito.