Ñico Saquito
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Ñico Saquito (Santiago de Cuba, February 13, 1901 - Santiago de Cuba, August 4, 1982) was a Cuban composer and guitarist. His influence on all Cuban music was very important, as well as his signs on the bases of what we currently call salsa and timba. Ñico Saquito is recognized as the greatest exponent of the Cuban guaracha. The Musical Reporter of Cuba was born under the name of Benito Antonio Fernández Ortiz in the house marked with number 58, today 267 on Santa Rosa street, corner of Mejorana, in Santiago de Cuba.
In 1928 he began his career as a troubadour with the Cuarteto Castillo with the latter as director and second voice; Ángel Almenares and Juan Medina, guitar, and Ñico Saquito, singer and maraquero; later he was part of the Típico Oriental group, directed by Guillermo Mozo, with which he made his first trip to the streets of Havana. In 1934 he would return to the capital, this time with the Cuban Star Quintet, made up of Enrique Pugita, Ramón Dilú and Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo), with whom he performed at the Cabaret Montmartre and on the radio station RHC Cadena Azul, by Amado Trinidad Velasco. , and later on Radio Suaritos, where he alternated with José Ramón Sánchez (El Madrugador), Celina González and Reutilio, Merceditas Valdés, Fernando Albuerne, Senén Suárez and Obdulio Morales.
In 1942 he founded the Compay Gallo Quartet, made up of Ñico Saquito, director and lead singer; Rigoberto Hecheverría (Maduro), three; [[Manolo Castillo|Manolo Castillo, second voice, and Ángel Almenares, guitar. In 1948 he created Los Guaracheros de Oriente, made up of Félix Escobar (El Gallego), paila and lead singer; Gerardo Macías (El Chino), guitar and voice, Florencio Santana (Picolo), guitar and voice.
With this group he traveled through Venezuela, Tampa, Key West, Mexico and New York. In 1951 he traveled to Venezuela with Los Guaracheros de Oriente, which later broke up and there he worked with the América trio and the Tico Álvarez quartet. In 1960 he returned to Cuba. Since then, and until his death, he worked at the La Bodeguita del Medio bar-restaurant. He participated with Los Guaracheros de Oriente, in the Cuban film Rincón criollo, 1951, together with the vedette Blanquita Amaro, the singer Celia Cruz and the duet of Celina and Reutilio.
His creations have remained through time in the invariable repertoire of great performers such as Benny Moré, Compay Segundo, the Ignacio Piñeiro Septet, Cheo Feliciano, Oscar D 'León, to name just a few of them. Numerous Latin American films feature his works on their soundtracks. In 1979, already ill, Ñico Saquito recorded with Eliades Ochoa, a troubadour from Santiago like himself, an anthological record that continues to have great musical validity, while the newest batch of Cuban musicians and others well established such as NG La Banda, the Van Van and Adalberto Álvarez y su Son continue incorporating their creations. Saquito's musical work, more than 500 compositions, covered the entire range of Cuban popular music, including peasant music.
His compositions have integrated the repertoire of the most outstanding artists and groups in Cuba, and have also been performed by important voices abroad. All of them gained amazing popularity, among them, Walk like Chencha la Gambá, My little waist and I'm going to the moon. The famous Mexican trio Los Panchos conquered thousands of admirers with the song Silverio, Facundo and the moon.
Other famous pieces of his authorship are the protest song Al vaivén de mi cart, as well as Don't leave a path on the sidewalk, La negra Leonor, What do you think of my compay?, Choncholí se va pa'l monte and Yo no escondo a mi. grandmother, among others.