Guillermo Portabales

Guillermo Portabales (José Guillermo Quesada del Catillo ) ( born April 6, 1911 in Rodas, in the present province of Cienfuegos, † October 25, 1970 ) was a Cuban singer and guitarist of the Guajira style from the 1930s to the 1960s popularized. He enjoys high popularity throughout Latin America.

At age eleven, he began to work as a printer wizard in the province of Cienfuegos.

In 1928 he made ​​his radio debut. Initially led Portabales different styles in his repertoire, such canción, tango, bolero and Son, until he discovered that his audience liked his Guajiras most. Therefore, he refined this style and shaped the salon Guajira, with lyrics he described the life of guajiros, the rural population. Portabales sang and played guitar, accompanied by bass and percussion. In his Guajiras to elements of the traditional Son mix with Bolero.

Portabales played on eastern Cuba until he was invited in 1936 to Puerto Rico. He remained there for several years and sang in clubs and on the radio. In 1939 he married the Puerto Rican Arah Mina López, a journalist who accompanied him on trips to Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, New York and Tampa in Florida.

1940 returned Portabales back to Havana to play there with the Trio Matamoros. He undertook a tour of the United States and remained for a long time in Barranquilla in Colombia.

1953 could be Portabales final in Puerto Rico down. In 1970, he died in a car accident.

His greatest successes were El Carretero, Cuando Sali de Cuba and Al Vaivén de mi Carreta.