Ñico Saquito
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Benito Antonio Fernández Ortiz (13 February 1901 – 4 August 1982), better known as Ñico Saquito, was a Cuban
trova ''Trova'' is a style of Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cuba, and earned their living by s ...
songwriter, guitarist and singer. He is widely considered the most prolific and successful composer of
guaracha The guaracha () is a genre of music that originated in Cuba, of rapid tempo and comic or picaresque lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical thea ...
s, most of which he wrote during his stint as a member of Los Guaracheros de Oriente. Among his most enduring compositions are "Cuidadito compay gallo", "María Cristina", "Adiós compay gato", "Al vaivén de mi carreta", "Camina como Chencha" and "Amarrao compé".


Life and career

Saquito was born on 13 February 1901 in
Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains ...
, the capital of the
Santiago de Cuba Province Santiago de Cuba Province is the second most populated province in the island of Cuba. The largest city Santiago de Cuba is the main administrative center. Other large cities include Palma Soriano, Contramaestre, San Luis and Songo-la Maya. Hi ...
(known as the Oriente Province between 1905 and 1976), notable for its traditional ''trova'' music. From an early age Saquito was a keen baseball player, using a jute sack as his
baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...
, from which his nickname originated (''ñico'' from Antoñico, diminutive of his name due to his short stature, and ''saquito'' meaning small sack). By the age of 15 he had already attracted attention for his songwriting, and abandoned a career in
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
to start life as a ''trovador''. Saquito directed his own group in the 1920s, and later joined the Cuarteto Castillo, spending much of the 1930s touring Cuba with the group. His first hit came in 1936 when the
Trío Matamoros The Trío Matamoros was one of the most popular Cuban trova groups. It was formed in 1925 by Miguel Matamoros (8 May 1894 in Santiago de Cuba – 15 April 1971; guitar), Rafael Cueto (14 March 1900 in Santiago de Cuba – 7 August 1991; g ...
recorded his guaracha "Cuidadito compay gallo". To capitalize on the song's success Saquito formed the Conjunto Compay Gallo with guitarist Florencio "Pícolo" Santana in 1940, releasing several singles on RCA Victor. The group broke up after 1941. Santana then began performing alongside guitarist Gerardo "El Chino" Macias at El Baturro, a popular tavern in Havana. Saquito subsequently formed a new group, Los Guaracheros de Oriente, of which Santana and Macías would become members. They made many recordings for RCA Victor, performed throughout Cuba and toured
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and
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in 1950. Ñico and the Guaracheros toured extensively abroad until 1960, when political conditions forced a decision as to whether or not to return to Cuba. Saquito returned, but the rest of the group stayed in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
, continuing their career without Saquito. He seemed to collect nicknames: to some he was "El guarachero de Oriente" (because he led the group of that name) and to others "Compay gato" (from his number "Adiós compay gato"). Later in his life Ñico played mostly in the bar-restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio, in Havana. In 1982 he recorded his last album at EGREM's Siboney studios in Santiago de Cuba with the Cuarteto Patria and the Dúo Cubano; these recordings were released posthumously on World Circuit in 1993 under the title ''Good-bye Mr. Cat'', becoming his only American LP.Ñico Saquito - Biography
Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 25 October 2017.


Discography

*1956: ''Esto es Cuba'' (Sonora) — with Ramón Veloz *1959: ''Son cosas de Ñico Saquito'' (
Panart Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacio ...
) — with Ramón Veloz *1960: ''Linda guajira'' (Panart) *1969: ''Ñico Saquito y su conjunto de Oriente'' *1979: ''Ñico Saquito'' ( Areito) *1993: ''Good-bye Mr. Cat'' ( World Circuit)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saquito, Nico 1901 births 1982 deaths Cuban male guitarists Cuban songwriters Male songwriters 20th-century Cuban male singers Guaracha singers Guaracha songwriters World Circuit (record label) artists 20th-century composers 20th-century guitarists People from Santiago de Cuba