Benito Antonio Fernández Ortiz (13 February 1901 – 4 August 1982), better known as Ñico Saquito, was a Cuban

trova ''Trova'' is a style of Music of Cuba, Cuban popular music originating in the 19th century. Trova was created by itinerant musicians known as ''trovadores'' who travelled around Cuba's Oriente Province, Oriente province, especially Santiago de Cu ...

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 has been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical the ...

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 t ...

, 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, Cuba, Contramaestre, San Luis, Sa ...

(known as the

Oriente Province Oriente (, "East") was the easternmost province of Cuba until 1976. The term "Oriente" is still used to refer to the eastern part of the country, which currently is divided into five different provinces. The origins of Oriente lie in the 1607 di ...

between 1905 and 1976), notable for its traditional ''trova'' music. From an early age Saquito was a keen baseball player, using a

jute Jute ( ) is a long, rough, shiny bast fibre that can be Spinning (textiles), spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from flowering plants in the genus ''Corchorus'', of the mallow family Malvaceae. The primary source of the fiber is ...

sack as his

baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a Batter (baseball), batter or thrown by a teammate. Gloves are traditionally made of leather; b ...

, 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 games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 a Cuban trova group. 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; guitar) and Siro Rodrí ...

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 RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

. 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

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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

, 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 Naci ...

) — 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)

Notes

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 Cuban composers 20th-century Cuban guitarists Musicians from Santiago de Cuba