Polo Montañez (June 5, 1955 - November 26, 2002) was a
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n singer and songwriter.
Early life
Montañez was born Fernando Borrego Linares in
Sierra del Rosario,
Pinar del Río
Pinar del Río is the capital city of Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. With a population of 139,336 (2004) in a municipality of 190,332, it is the 10th-largest city in Cuba. Inhabitants of the area are called ''Pinareños''.
History
Pinar del R ...
, on a farm known as ''El Brujito''. At an early age he worked various jobs including driving a tractor, milking cows, making charcoal, assisting on the family farm, and as a lumberjack. In his spare time, Montañez would go from house to house singing. He began to sing and play in local parties and family gatherings with his father. In those gatherings, he started playing the
tumbadora
The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...
and the guitar at age 7.
From Anonymity to International Fame
He started to manage a group that played in touristic areas of La Cordillera de los Órganos. He lived in la Cañada del Infierno, Casa Blanca, Finca del Cusco, and in 1972 he occupied one of the houses in the touristic community of ''
Las Terrazas
Las Terrazas is a small community and nature reserve in the municipality of Candelaria, Artemisa Province, Cuba. It is located in the Sierra del Rosario mountains (part of Guaniguanico range), which was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO ...
''. He composed his first song in 1973, titled "Este tiempo feliz" (This happy time), after that he continued creating, but he stored his songs in a drawer because he didn't consider them valuable.
In around 1994 when the
Complejo Las Terrazas was founded, Polo and his own ensemble of sort started playing at its different touristic installations, like
Hotel Moka, Rancho Curujey and Cafetal Buenavista. Between those tasks, he met a
Lusafrica
Lusafrica, full name: Productions Lusafrica (French for ''Lusafrica Productions'') is a multinational independent record label company based in Paris, France. The company was founded in 1988 by José da Silva (born in 1959 in Praia, Cape Verde), ...
European label owner and in 1999 signed a contract to make a few records. From there his first album "
Guajiro Natural" and the song
Un montón de Estrellas were born. In
Colombia it sold more than 40,000 copies, obtaining Gold and Platinum status, and he was recognized as the most listened to international artist. He became known as the Guajiro Natural (Natural Countryman) because of his humble personality and songs about peasant life in Cuba.
At age 44 he had more than 70 songs written as an autodidact. He had no professional training nor musical knowledge, apart from listening the countryside sounds. He composed in a mix of genres, making use of rhythms he heard and knew. He developed his own style with themes about outside or personal events, impregnated with rural elements: the
ox yoke
A yoke is a wooden beam sometimes used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull together on a load when working in pairs, as oxen usually do; some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, u ...
, the smell of coal, the smell of ''
bateys''.
In Cuba, Polo's popularity skyrocketed. Spectators' numbers at his concerts exceeded expectations.
Concert in Holguín:
In the year 2002 he played a master concert at the city of
Holguín
Holguín () is a municipality and city in Cuba, and the capital of Province of Holguín. After Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey, it is the fourth largest city in Cuba.
History
Before Columbus, the Taino people settled in huts made fro ...
, where many more people attended than event planners ever thought would.
Visited Countries
He has visited
Colombia five times,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
on two occasions; he has performed in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
México
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, and
Costa Rica too. He shared the stage with artists as
Rubén Blades
Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...
,
Andy Montañez
Andrés Montañez Rodríguez (born May 7, 1942), better known as Andy Montañez, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter.
Early life
Montañez is a native of the ''Tras Talleres'' area of Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is known by the nic ...
,
Margarita Francisco,
Cesária Évora
Cesária Évora GCIH (; 27 August 194117 December 2011), more commonly known as Cize, was a Cape Verdean singer-songwriter. She received a Grammy Award in 2004 for her album ''Voz d'Amor''. Nicknamed the "Barefoot Diva" for performing without ...
,
Cándido Fabré
Cándido Fabré (born in San Luis, Santiago de Cuba) is a Cuban musician, song writer, and singer famous for his skilled improvisation. He was born on September 20, 1959, in the municipality of San Luis (Santiago de Cuba Province, Santiago de Cub ...
,
Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo),
Eliades Ochoa
Eliades Ochoa Bustamante (born 22 June 1946) is a Cuban guitarist and singer from Loma de la Avispa, Songo La Maya in the east of the country near Santiago de Cuba.
He began playing the guitar when he was six and in 1978 he was invited to joi ...
,
Adalberto Álvarez
Adalberto Álvarez (22 November 1948 – 1 September 2021) was a Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and ...
,
Danny Rivera
Danny Rivera (born 27 February 1945) is a singer and songwriter born in San Juan whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is well known in Puerto Rico for his political activism. In 2008, Rivera acquired Dominican Republic citizenship.
After 12 ye ...
,
Gilberto Santa Rosa
Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...
and others.
Death
Polo Montañez died on November 26, 2002, six days after being hospitalized in the
Carlos J. Finlay Military Hospital, as a result of a tragic car accident in the ''Coronela'' zone near
San Cristóbal, Pinar del Río. He was buried in the cemetery of
Candelaria, at
Artemisa
Artemisa () is a municipality and city in Cuba, formerly part of La Habana Province.
According to a law approved by the Cuban National Assembly in August 2010, Artemisa became the capital city of the newly formed Artemisa Province, which comprise ...
.
The cultural centre in the main square of
Viñales
Viñales is a town and municipality in the north-central Pinar del Río Province of Cuba. The town consists mostly of one-story wooden houses with porches. The municipality is dominated by low mountain ranges of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico su ...
, Pinar del Rio, is named in his memory.
Soon after his death the songwriter José Valladares composed a song in honour of Polo entitled
Cazador de Estrellas (Star Hunter), which was interpreted by various artists such as
Pedro Calvo
Pedro Calvo is a popular Cuban singer sometimes affectionately nicknamed ''Pedrito'', meaning "little Pedro". He is most famous for his time with Los Van Van, one of Cuba’s premier dance bands, which he joined in 1974. During the late 1990s, ...
,
Paulito FG, Jenny (
Los Van Van
Los Van Van is one of the leading musical groups of post-revolutionary Cuba. It was founded in 1969 by bassist Juan Formell, who directed the band until his death in 2014. Formell and former band members Changuito and Pupy are some of the most im ...
's vocalist) among others, making a tribute to the unforgettable figure of the Guajiro Natural.
Discography
* ''
Guajiro Natural'' (2000) - CD Lusafrica 362202
* ''
Guitarra Mía'' (2002) - CD Lusafrica 362502
* ''
Memoria
Memoria was the term for aspects involving memory in Western classical rhetoric. The word is Latin, and can be translated as "memory".
It was one of five canons in classical rhetoric (the others being inventio, dispositio, elocutio, and pronunt ...
'' (2004) - CD Lusafrica 462222
* ''
El Guajiro'' (2005) - DVD Lusafrica 462438, 2005
* ''
Cuestión de Suerte'' (2006)
His greatest hit in his career was the song "Un montón de estrellas", included on his albums ''Guajiro Natural'' and ''Memoria'', demonstrating his influence and love for everything that touched his heart. It achieved great success throughout Latin America.
External links
Obituary from canandiannetworkoncuba.caMúsica de Polo Montañez / Polo Montañez's MusicEntrevistas / Interviews: Polo Montañez: Un montón de música(Article published a
Radio Guamá Entrevista con Polo / Interview with Polo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montanez, Polo
1955 births
2002 deaths
20th-century Cuban male singers
Road incident deaths in Cuba
Cuban songwriters
Male songwriters
Latin music songwriters