Guantanamera is the title of probably the best known Cuban song and one of the most well-known Spanish songs around the world. The title can be translated as “Woman from Guantánamo” and the most common version is based on a poem by the famous Cuban poet José Martí. Julián Orbón adapted selections from Martí’s famous poetry collection “Versos Sencillos” (Simple Verses) into four verses which have become known as the “official” lyrics.
The music itself is attributed to Joseíto Fernández although there is some dispute over when and who first invented the song. However, when Herminio García Wilson's heirs took the matter to court to argue that Wilson was responsible for the song’s structure, they lost the case at the People's Supreme Court of Cuba making Joseíto Fernández the officially accepted composer of the song. Moreover, Fernández, who is believed to have created the song in 1929, changed the lyrics of the song regularly in a radio show that he was running to comment on daily events making the music popular in the Spanish speaking world.
The song has become a national and international hit being adapted by many artists such as Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Trini Lopez, La Lupe, Buena Vista Social Club and Tito Puente. Pete Seeger recorded a reworked version of the song based on Orbón’s lyrics which significantly aided in the song’s rise to international fame especially when the group The Sandpipers adapted the song a few years later. In 1966 their version had become the most commercially successful adaptation reaching No. 7 on the UK singles chart.
Different lyrics by various authors have been used over time which all have a separate origin story. Garcia said that he made a pass at a girl in the street and she reacted rather harshly, embarrassing him in front of his friends, after which he wrote a song about the incident. Fernández claimed that the song was about a woman he was interested in romantically but who only had a platonic interest in him. The official lyrics based on Marti's poetry collection Versos Sencillos, talk about a Cuban man who wants to share the way he feels with the world setting the scene for a patriotic hymn about Cuba, class equality and freedom for the poor.
