Good day dear blog listeners, followers and readers.

Today, just as we did last week with Eliades Ochoa, we shall continue our familiarization with another great figure of Cuban music – Maximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz Tellesmostly known as Compay Segundo.

With a musical career of over 60 years, and dozens of albums released, Compay Segundo is another pillar of Cuban music.
Born on Novembre 18th 1907 in Siboney, Maximo started playing guitar and singing at a young age.
His family moved to Santiago de Cuba in 1916, where he would play at the municipal band, with whom he performed in concert for the first time while at a trip to the capital, in 1929.
Maximo liked the capital much, and moved there 5 years later, in 1934, where he would live out the rest of his days.

His first breakthrough came in 1935, at the band of the famous Guaracha composer Nico Saquino, in 1935.
During the 1940s Maximo played the clarinete for the band of Miguel Matamoros, and got to travel outside Cuba, to Mexico, on tour with Benny More.
In Mexico he met Lorenzo Hierrezuelo, and in 1942 the two formed Duo de los Compadres, which achieved international fame soon after.
The name “compay segundo” came from that time, as Maximo was the 2nd voice of the duet.

Later on Compay would play for Los Seis Ases, el Cuarteto Cubanacan, and would form his own band, Compay Segundo y sus muchachos, with whom he would play all over the Caribbean, south America and later Europe.
Global fame came to Maximo as a part of the Buena Vista Social Club, with the well known album and film coming out in 1997, followed by several world tours, including a concert before pope John Paul II at the Vatican, and the Grammy award.
Throughout his career, compay had a signature instrument he made himself – a 7 string Tres guitar called “Armonica”, which gave his playing style its unique sound.
Maximo passed away at the age of 95 on July 14th, 2003.

The song presented today is the famous Chan Chan, in its original version – written and composed by Maximo 10 years prior to the Buena Vista social club, in 1987.

Here is the studio recording

And here is a live version, one of the first times the song was ever played!

And remember…
¡Siguen Disrtutando la musica Cubana!