Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez

On November 29, Cuban troubadour Silvio Rodríguez Domínguez turned 77 years old, and from CubaSí, we want to briefly review his life and work.

The renowned singer-songwriter was born in 1946 in San Antonio de los Baños, province of Artemisa, and from a young age he stood out in singing. However, his first studies were piano, until he decided on the guitar and wrote his first songs.

He was around twenty years old when he met Pablo Milanés and Noel Nicola at a song festival and, later, with them, he founded the Nueva Trova Movement. Afterwards, they joined the Experimental Sound Group from ICAIC, along with the also prominent musician, Leo Brouwer, and among others.

Silvio Rodríguez has written hundreds of songs. He has sung about love, the history of Cuba and Latin America, the Revolution and about life. He is known worldwide and has performed on the most important stages, but also in every vulnerable and forgotten borough. He is a poet par excellence, and it is very difficult to cite only some of his works, when there are so many with great value. Hopefully, Ojalá, La era está pariendo un corazón, Óleo de una mujer con sombrero, Santiago de Chile, Te amaré, La maza, Unicornio, Ángel para un final, El dulce abismo, Te conozco, Requiem, El necio, Desnuda y con sombrilla, these are some of his greatest songs ever.

He is a world-class artist. He is regarded as an exceptional musician, an icon of the Cuban music. His compositions and voice have always been there for us. We grew up with them and his songs are part of our lives.

Silvio Rodríguez is an established singer-songwriter. We also acknowledge his high social commitment beyond his country of birth and the region. We highlight his talent and deep humanism, very present in his lyrics; and we are grateful that listening to him is a balm for our ears since he is able to carry us to happy times with his voice. He also makes us think. His music is personal, intimate, even when his speech is harsh, but it is also delicate when he speaks with feelings about life.

Thanks for everything! We wish you a long life, maestro!

We want to share with you the documentary Mi primera tarea (My First Mission) where we can listen to Silvio Rodríguez telling us one of the most transcendental passages in his life, which marked him forever, for the better. The singer-songwriter was involved, in 1961, when he was only 14 years old, in the Literacy Campaign that our country waged to teach thousands of Cubans to read and write, especially from humble origins who lived in ignorance.

Translated by Sergio A. Paneque Díaz / CubaSí Translation Staff