Compay Segundo

For other uses, see Segundo (disambiguation).

Compay Segundo
Compay Segundo
Born	Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz November 18, 1907 Siboney (Cuba)
Died	July 14, 2003 (aged 95) Havana (Cuba)
Other name	Compay Segundo
Genres	Guajira Guaracha Bolero Son
Associated acts	Cuarteto Patria Buena Vista Social Club

Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz (Siboney, November 18, 1907 – Havana, July 14, 2003), known professionally by the pseudonym Compay Segundo, was a Cuban musician and composer with an extensive worldwide career.

He became a popular composer and performer, very well known among lovers of Cuban music. He began by playing the guitar, the Cuban tres, the clarinet and the bongó. He also played the tumbadora.

He was the inventor of the armónico, a seven-string hybrid between the Spanish guitar and the Cuban tres. This instrument seeks to imitate the timbre of the tres by adding a string tuned an octave apart on the third string (G). Its tuning is the same as that of the guitar: first string E, second B, third G (double string tuned in octaves), and D, A, E, tuned one octave above the guitar's own tuning.

He began his musical career very young, when he composed his first songs, and in the 1930s he was a member of various artistic groups in Santiago, such as the Cuarteto de Trovadores Orientales and the Cuarteto Hatuey. He was also a vocalist in the ensemble of Miguel Matamoros.

In 1948, Repilado, as second voice and tres player, founded with Lorenzo Hierrezuelo the legendary duo Los Compadres. Lorenzo, as lead vocalist, was called Compay Primo, and Repilado, since he sang the second voice, adopted the nickname Compay Segundo, which would stay with him until the day of his death. Los Compadres were a true phenomenon of popularity that lasted until 1955, when Reinaldo Hierrezuelo, Lorenzo's brother, replaced Compay Segundo, who in turn formed a new group that he named 'Compay Segundo y sus muchachos'.

His international fame came in 1997 with his participation in the album Buena Vista Social Club, which won several Grammy awards, and with his appearance in the film of the same name directed by Wim Wenders. In April 2002, he shared the stage of the Palais des Congrès de Paris, France, with fellow prominent sonero Adalberto Álvarez in a concert paying tribute to Cuba's musical contribution on the 20th anniversary of the founding of Radio Latina.

In his last years he performed before millions of spectators and recorded nine albums. He was unable to fulfill his dream of reaching the age attained by his grandmother, who had been an enslaved person and died free at the age of 106. He died in Havana of renal failure at the age of 95.

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" (1996)
  • "Yo Vengo Aqui" (1996)
  • "Son del Monte" (1996)
  • "Musique Traditionelle Cubaine" (1997)
  • "Buena Vista Social Club" (1997)
  • "Antología" (1997)
  • "Lo Mejor de la Vida" (1998)
  • "Calle Salud" (1999)
  • "Yo Soy Del Norte" (2000)
  • "Las Flores de la Vida" (2000)
  • "Antología" (2001)
  • "Duets" (2002)

• 2007
  • "Cien Años. 100th Birthday Celebration" (3CD+DVD)

Gallery

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External links

• Biography and photo of Compay Segundo at lahuellasonora.com Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
• Buena Vista Social Club (in English)
• Compay Segundo on YouTube