Guillermo Portabales

Guillermo Portabales (6 April 1911 – 25 October 1970) was a Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist who popularized that "guajira" style of Cuban music from the 1930s through the 1960s. His languid, melancholy, intensely lyrical "guajiras" and his elegant, stylish singing made him popular throughout Latin America, where he is still revered.

Controversy about basic data

With this famous trovador we have a fully-fledged controversy about the basic factual details of his life. First, what was his registered name at birth? Well, it seems it was not Guillermo Portabales, but Portabales was not a nickname, it was a name deliberately chosen by himself early in his life. The name José Guillermo Quesada or José Guillermo Quesada del Catillo has been suggested as his birth name, though no-one has yet claimed to have seen the registration document, let alone photographed it. It should be quite straightforward for a Cuban researcher to check this. We do know (or, at least, we think we know!) that his father died when he was young, and that his mother married again. So the likelihood is that he adopted either his mother's or his stepfather's surname.

Secondly, where was he born? In the old Province of Santa Clara (Las Villas), certainly, but which town? Cienfuegos or Rodas? Both are now in the modern Province of Cienfugos.

Thirdly, when was he born? Helio Orovio, in the original Cuban edition of 1981, left Portabales out entirely. [In the usual Soviet-style way, any opponents of the revolution get 'painted out' of history; but Portabales had left Cuba years before the Castro revolution, and most such people still retained their place in official Cuban history. Portabales had even recorded an album for "Gema" in Cuba in 1960, after the revolution but before Egrem took over all recording rights in Cuba.] The later English translation reinstated such 'enemies of the state' as Celia Cruz (who "was" a determined opponent of the regime) and Portabales, giving 06 April 1914 as his date of birth. [Orovio, Helio 2004. "Cuban music from A to Z". Revised by Sue Steward. ISBN 0822331861 A biographical dictionary of Cuban music, artists, composers, groups and terms. Duke University, Durham NC; Tumi, Bath. p166] Cristobal Díaz Ayala ["The Díaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin-American Popular Music Collection: Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music" at the FIU website (Florida International University) – Guillermo Portabales entry #2082.] gives 06 April 1911.

Fourthly, when did he die? Orovio (English edition) says: 1961. This we do know is definitely incorrect, because there are at least three recording session whose dates we know are later in the 1960s. [In 1962/3 in Miami; in 1967/8 in New York, issued on Gema 3070 "Viva Portabales"; and, above all, in October 1970 in Puerto Rico, just a few days before his death (issued Gema 3086 "Sones cubanos: Guillermo Portabales con Los Guaracheros de Oriente"). This is absolutely conclusive.] This simple refutation throws doubt upon Orovio's other data, and has led to a general acceptance of Cristobal Díaz's version of 25th October 1970.

Fifthly, where did he die? Orovio: Isla Verde, Cuba. Díaz: San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is almost unbelievable that the two versions should be so different, and again, it seems right to prefer Díaz, especially as the best-known Isla Verde is in Puerto Rico. Both agree that he died in a traffic accident; he was apparently hit by a car when leaving a gig at Las Palmas restaurant. Therefore, we go with Cristobal Díaz Ayala:

Guillermos Portabales was born José Guillermo Quesada at Rodos (Cienfuegos, Cuba) 06 April 1911 – died (San Juan, Puerto Rico) 25 October 1970 at the age of 59. Probably.

Career

At age 11, Portabales began work as a printer's assistant in Cienfuegos. In 1928, he made his radio debut on the station CMHI, and from then on divided his time between his work as a printer and performing.

In the beginning, Portabales sang a variety of styles — canción, tango, bolero, son — until he discovered that his listeners enjoyed the guajira the most. He thereby refined the style and developed his signature "salon guajira" style in which he depicted in bucolic terms the life of the Cuban "guajiro" (the rural campesino). Portabales sang and played guitar, accompanied bass and percussion. His guajiras have a gentle, lilting rhythm, sometimes mixing with elements of the son or the bolero.

Portabales continued to perform and perfect the guajira until he went to Puerto Rico in 1937. Portabales became enamored of the neighboring island and remained there for two years, singing in theaters, clubs and on the radio. In 1939, he married Puerto Rican Arah Mina López, a journalist who joined him as he returned to Cuba in 1939. Over the years they toured together in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, New York, and Tampa.

After returning to Havana Portabales performed on stage and radio with the Trio Matamoros. He also made a successful tour of United States and took an extended stay in Barranquilla, Colombia. In 1953, Portabales finally settled for good in Puerto Rico, where he continued to record and perform and from where he made occasional tours of the continent. During the 1960s, he expressed his opposition to the Cuban Revolution in several compositions in discreetly poetic terms.

Assessment

Portabales' early work is represented on Tumbao TCD 084 "Guillermo Portabales: El creador de la guajira de salón 1937–1943: Al vaivén de mi carreta". It is this CD, with its liner notes, which may be the source of the incorrect dates.

His voice, and particularly his guitar technique, improved greatly with experience. This is quite clear from the recordings in his fifties, represented by World Circuit WCD 023 "Guillermo Portabales, El Carretero". This includes examples from his three recording sessions in the 1960s

For the quality of his voice, its purity and its subtle evocation of emotion, and the exceptionally high calibre of his guitar technique – which is certainly worth attention by young musicians – Portabales must be rated as a performer of the highest calibre even given the unusually high standards of Cuban popular music.

His style is on the Spanish side of criole in contrast to many other Cuban trova performers in the 20th century: his music is clearly in the tradition of the old Spanish-descent countryside people, the guajiros. His repertoire was originally wide, but he came to specialize in guajira-sons and laments, together with some guaracha-sons. With his smooth style, he was known as the creator of "la guajira de salón". As a composer he was perhaps not so important as his rootsier compatriot, Ñico Saquito, but what he did compose was of high quality, and still is popular.

Three of his noteworthy compositions: "El carretero"; "Nostalgia guajira"; "Cumbiamba".

References

* [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Portabales German Wikipedia]
* [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillermo_Portabales French Wikipedia]