César Portillo de la Luz

Composer, guitarist and singer. One of the great exponents of Cuban songwriting and founder of the feeling movement.

He began his artistic career as a singer in a trio made up of guitar and tres. In those early years he was closely linked to son music creation, which exerted a decisive influence on his interest in the guitar, an instrument he played in public for the first time in 1939. In that field he learned the first positions of the instrument; later he expanded his technical knowledge and applied to the guitar his first chords and intervals that generated the triad, the most elementary chord that can be constructed. From then on he dedicated all his effort, not only to finding adequate fingering, but to finding a logical explanation in the construction of chords for later application.

Toward the end of the thirties he was very attentive to all the musical events of his context, both in the spectrum of national and foreign creation. Through phonographic recordings he followed very closely the aesthetic inclinations that occurred in the best music from Mexico and Puerto Rico and paid special attention to the soundtracks of American cinema, particularly to the orchestral work designed for films of that cinematographic resource.

The abundant listening sessions, both of soundtracks and phonographic records, led him to cultivate and establish broad artistic appreciations, to the point of thinking about specific mechanisms capable of selecting, among these musical pieces, the melodies he really needed for developing his own aesthetic codes. He consumed the best music from Broadway musical theater (he was captivated by the wonderful dance steps of the couple Ginger Rogers / Fred Astaire), and —thanks to recordings— the fruitful musical shift from the rich and catchy swing rhythms in the manner of Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller, to the perfect rhythm experienced by bebop artists of the caliber of Charlie Parker, Russell, Dizzie Gillespie, permeated by the Afro-Cuban percussion of Carlos Vidal and Luciano "Chano" Pozo.

Those timbres did not prevent him from appreciating the best of all the potential of everything that sounded in the United States at that time, until reaching experiences that created singular emphases of undeniable emotion for the subsequent discourse and melodic dialogue in the development of the texts of his future songs. But, in reality, the greatest influence he received came from Glenn Miller, who, in his musical thinking, left a mark of transcendence, especially in the timbral and harmonic aspects.

At the same time, American musical cinema stimulated him to undertake an approach to the impressionist movement. He gave his preferences to Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, so he dedicated himself without hesitation to long listening sessions with recordings such as the suite La mer by the former, while at the same time consuming, in a rare and voracious manner, Brahms, Chopin and Liszt.

Over time he discovered in the background music of American musical theater and its use in musical films the existence of impressionist influences in the manner of Gershwin and Handy, to a greater degree than debussyian or ravelian impressionism proper; although in its application this music was not free of impressionist codes.

Then he delved into study and listening to reaffirm many of his appreciations, which until that moment had been immersed in empirical, intuitive knowledge. This led him to the decisive conviction that, although he had not achieved systematic study of music, it was essential for him to develop his immense galaxy of concerns, and that the solution to such complex issues was achieved through work, the only way for an artist. He delved, through listening sessions, into the creative world of classical and romantic composers. From each of these styles he configured his preferences based on rigorous selection.

In the forties his first approaches to recordings with the work of Manuel de Falla took place, whose compositions he would enjoy in the company of guitarist and composer Ñico Rojas and pianist Frank Emilio Flyn, who encouraged him to mature as a creator. However, only when he came into contact with professor Vicente González Rubiera did he achieve full awareness of the importance and complexity of the guitar.

For feeling composers, the lyrics of their songs were a harvest of emotions lived daily; with lyrics (unlike the songs of that time) close to life, to the need to exist and face realities. This in no way meant a divorce from poetry, sentiment and love of life; in contrast, these emotions were viewed from a different perspective, from a more concrete poetic universe, although full of lyricism far removed from morbidity and sentimentality, beyond the intimate conflict of custom.

On multiple occasions he stated: "I am not a slave to circumstances, but if in the midst of my regular work a timely song arises, I compose it and then continue with what I usually do. I do not stop at the moment, I continue. Each day there are more things to sing about."

It was no accident that he matured his ideas before composing, and he would not write a song until he was convinced that it reflected an event or was close to a truth.

His work, like that of all the creators of feeling, at first found resistance to being performed. Some singers complained about the complexity of its harmony, or the nakedness of its images to any artistic expression, or how counterproductive it was for current taste. But finally it awakened acceptance and spread in musical circles at the end of the forties, especially when composer, orchestrator and tres player Andrés Echevarria, artistically known as "Niño Rivera," incorporated it with his arrangements to the repertoire of Conjunto Casino, recreated by the voices of Roberto Faz, Orlando Vallejo, Roberto Espí and Nelo Sosa. Over Cuban radio waves, recordings of pieces such as Quiéreme y verás, Realidad y Fantasía, Perdido amor, Es nuestra canción, Tú, mi delirio, Contigo en la distancia, Concierto gris and many others began to be heard, enriching the Cuban musical firmament.

The fifties brought success to his compositions. Important vocalists, especially from Mexico, incorporated many of Portillo's compositions into their repertoires and recording programs. In those years he created Canto a Rita, Dime si eres tú, Vuelve a vivir, and Chachachá de las pepillas.

After the triumph of the Cuban revolution, his work became more reflective, perhaps more philosophical. Canción de un Festival, Al hombre nuevo, Canción a la canción, La hora de todos, ¡Oh valeroso Vietnam!, Interludio, Arenga para continuar una batalla, En esa fecha and Canto, luego existo became known.

His work, always full of authentic Cubanness, is closer to poetic entertainment, as can be seen in Son al son and Son de la verdad.

For more than six decades he has received recognition from the most demanding generations. The Academy of Arts and Letters of Music of Spain granted him, in its VIII Edition, the Latino Prize for a Lifetime 2004, in a ceremony held at the Municipal Palace of Congresses in Madrid.

Works

Concierto gris, 1946
Contigo en la distancia, 1946
Estampa bohemia, 1946
Noche cubana, 1946
Realidad y fantasía, 1946
Perdido amor, 1947
Es nuestra canción, 1948
Vuelve a vivir, 1949
Canto a Rita, 1954
Chachachá de las pepillas, 1954
Sabrosón, 1954
Tú, mi delirio, 1954
Dime si eres tú, 1962
Canción de un festival, 1963
Al hombre nuevo, 1967
Amor 67, 1967
Canción a la canción, 1968
La hora de todos, 1968
!Oh! valeroso Viet Nam, 1968
Amor es eso, 1970
Canción sobre un cuento de Onelio, 1970
Interludio, 1972
Arenga para continuar una batalla, 1973
En esta fecha, 1978
Canción de los juanes, 1979
Son al son, 1980
Canción breve para el juglar, 1983
Canto, luego existo, 1983
La cuestión, 1983
Monólogo in blue, 1983
Muestrario, 1983
Señora mexicana, 1983
Son de a verdad, 1983
Canción para ese día, 1987
Gracias señora M, 1995
Forever Frank, 1998
Como una flor, 2003.