"Dos gardenias" is a

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

written in 1945 by Cuban composer and pianist

Isolina Carrillo Isolina Carrillo (December 9, 1907 – February 21, 1996) was a Cuban composer, singer and pianist. She was a member of the vocal group Conjunto Siboney. At the age of eleven she made her musical debut replacing a pianist that called in sick in he ...

.De León (2003) p. 38. Widely considered a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

of the

Latin music Latin music ( Portuguese and es, música latina) is a term used by the music industry as a catch-all category for various styles of music from Ibero-America (including Spain and Portugal) and the Latino United States inspired by Latin Amer ...

repertoire, the song became a hit for Daniel Santos in 1948, due to his recording with

La Sonora Matancera La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...

with an arrangement by

Pérez Prado Dámaso Pérez Prado (December 11, 1916 – September 14, 1989) was a Cuban bandleader, pianist, composer and arranger who popularized the mambo in the 1950s.''On Becoming Cuban: Identity, Nationality, and Culture'' Louis A. Pérez Jr. - 2012 ...

. Years later the composition would achieve international fame beyond the Spanish-speaking world thanks to

Ibrahim Ferrer Ibrahim Ferrer (February 20, 1927 – August 6, 2005) was a Cuban singer who played with Los Bocucos for nearly forty years. He also performed with Conjunto Sorpresa, Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental and Mario Patterson. After his retirement in ...

's 1996 recording with the

Buena Vista Social Club Buena Vista Social Club is an ensemble of Cuban musicians established in 1996. The project was organized by World Circuit executive Nick Gold, produced by American guitarist Ry Cooder and directed by Juan de Marcos González. They named the gr ...

collective.

Recording history

"Dos gardenias" was first recorded by Guillermo Arronte for the

RHC-Cadena Azul Radio Habana Cuba-Cadena Azul (lit. "''Radio Havana Cuba-Blue Network''") was a Cuban radio network operating in various forms from 1939 until 1954. It was a heated rival of radio network CMQ. History Origins RHC was created in 1939 by Felix O'Sh ...

radio station in Havana, in 1945. Arronte would later become Carrillo's husband. That year

Avelina Landín Avelina Landín Rodríguez (10 November 1919 – 21 February 1991) was a Mexican singer, considered "one of the great and distinctive voices of Mexican bolero music". She was born in Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ...

popularised the song in Mexico. The song achieved its greatest success in Cuba in 1947 thanks to the recording by

with an arrangement by

and lead vocals by Daniel Santos. Fernando Álvarez recorded the song that year as well, which became Carrillo's favourite rendition. Soon after,

Antonio Machín Antonio Abad Lugo Machín (11 February 1903, in Sagua la Grande, Cuba – 4 August 1977, in Madrid, Spain) was a Spanish-Cuban singer and musician. His version of '' El Manisero'', recorded in New York, 1930, with Don Azpiazú's orchestra, was the ...

made the song famous in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. In 1948,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer Miguel de Gonzalo recorded the song for

Peerless Records Peerless Records was a record label based in Mexico. Peerless was founded in 1921 in Mexico City by E. Baptista. Early pressings of their gramophone record were made under contract by Gennett Records. By 1933, Peerless was pressing its own reco ...

backed by Julio Gutiérrez's orchestra. He later recorded another version with

Sonora Matancera La Sonora Matancera is a Cuban band that played Latin American urban popular dance music. Founded in 1924 and led for more than five decades by guitarist, vocalist, composer, and producer Rogelio Martínez, musicologists consider it an icon of ...

for

Stinson Records Stinson Records was an American record label formed by Herbert Harris and Irving Prosky in 1939, initially to market, in the US, recordings made in the Soviet Union. Between the 1940s and 1960s, it mainly issued recordings of American folk and bl ...

under the name Conjunto Tropicavana for legal reasons.

References

{{authority control Boleros 1945 songs 1947 singles