Carlos Manuel Puebla

===BODY===
Composer, guitarist and singer.

From a young age he learned guitar playing in a self-taught manner and worked in various trades before dedicating himself fully to artistic life; he was a carpenter, mechanic, sugar worker and shoemaker. His temperament drove him toward the world of music. When he went to school he never abandoned his harmonica, which he would play along the way. The guitar lessons that his sister received were followed by him in secret and then repeated; this self-taught character impelled him to learn. Using distance learning methods such as those for learning to play guitar without a teacher and consulting Pedro Estacio (director of the Municipal Concert Band of Manzanillo) and Juan García (piano teacher) he took his first steps in musical learning.

In the 1930s his songs were already being broadcast on the local radio station in Manzanillo, CMKM.

During this time his music themes were of a romantic nature, songs that became great hits and have become part of the heritage of Cuban music. Some of them are: Quiero hablar contigo, Qué sé yo, Te vieron con él, Cuenta conmigo, Quién se lo iba a imaginar, Hay que decir adiós and Dejemos de fingir.

Soon after he would begin recording his records; in these pieces social and advocacy themes already begin to be addressed. Songs such as: Plan de machete, Este es mi pueblo and Pobre de mi Cuba denounced the situation being lived in Cuba at that time without fear of repression.

In the 1950s he was accompanied by the group Los Tradicionales (Santiago Martínez, Pedro Sosa and Rafael Lorenzo), with his works being published under the name Carlos Puebla y Sus Tradicionales.

His presence on national radio and television became habitual. Although his most beloved venue at that time was the Havana restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio where he performed his work without charging any salary but comforted by the good atmosphere that existed there. As he himself said:
(...) I spent my time singing with a full belly and a happy heart.

This place served him to meet many other artists and important personalities. With the triumph of the Revolution he conducted musical studies at the School of Professional Advancement in Havana.

At the same time, Puebla sang about the most relevant events in the history of the Cuban people, becoming the chronicler par excellence of all national events since 1959.

In his compositions he used serious and direct language, nuanced in some cases by the most popular creole humor, whose best examples are the guarachas "Y en eso llegó Fidel" and "La OEA es cosa de risa"; the bolero "Yankees go home"; the son "El son de la alfabetización", and the already mythical "Hasta siempre comandante" (1965), dedicated to Che, which made him internationally famous.

His work was not limited to reflecting only the popular epic of the first years of the Revolution, but also addressed the theme of love and the daily labor of the people, as a prolific composer with nearly a thousand works, including boleros, sones and guarachas, although marches, hymns, tangos, lullabies, claves and songs also appear in his repertoire which make up a rhythmic-melodic variety.

Many of his texts have been translated into numerous languages and his musical works have been used in Cuban film productions, such as the films Alba de Cuba, Estado de sitio and Nuestro hombre en La Habana, among others.

Together with his group he performed television programs and numerous international tours through countries in Latin America. He recorded numerous works with the Cuban company EGREM, resulting in several LP records. His works are included in the repertoire of numerous Cuban performers.

Discography
Studio Albums
1969 - Y diez años van
EP
1971 - Ojo con la CIA / Todos los caminos
Collective
1971 - Saludo cubano
[edit]Posthumous Works
1997 - Cantarte Comandante
1997 - La novia del feeling
1997 - Toda una vida
1998 - Hasta siempre
1999 - Dos voces de América en un canto a Cuba
1999 - Soy del pueblo
2001 - Mis cincuenta preferidas. Vol. III
2004 - El gran tesoro de la música cubana. Vol. IV
2004 - Rebeldes
Collective
1997 - ¡El Che vive!