"Guantanamera" is Cuba’s most famous song. Cuban singer-songwriter Joseíto Fernández created the melody and the chorus in the 1930’s. In the early 1960’s renown composer Julian Orbón added verses from Cuban patriot and poet Jose Marti’s “Versos Sencillos”. Soon thereafter folk singer Pete Seeger learned the song and performed it at a concert in

"Guantanamera" is Cuba’s most famous song. Cuban singer-songwriter Joseíto Fernández created the melody and the chorus in the 1930’s. In the early 1960’s renown composer Julian Orbón added verses from Cuban patriot and poet Jose Marti’s “Versos Sencillos”. Soon thereafter folk singer Pete Seeger learned the song and performed it at a concert in Carnegie Hall in 1963, introducing “Guantanamera” to the rest of the world. It warms my heart to know that the folk music community has a special place for this song from my country, and that it continues to bring people together.