José Artemio Castañeda Hechavarría

He was born in Santiago de Cuba, and by the age of 8 his inclination toward Cuban music was already evident. From time to time he spent periods in Ciudad de La Habana. At thirteen he returned permanently to his native city and after his mother's death he worked as an amateur tres player.
At the age of 15, already as a professional, he joined the musicians' union in Cuba's hospitable city. Thus he began working at the radio station CMKW and was part of Jorge Montero Tabuada's trio, accompanying the interpreter Luisa María Hernández nicknamed La India de Oriente.

The young tres player remained in that work for two years and subsequently founded his own group, under the name Cauto. After three years he changed the group's name to Las Maravillas de Beltrán, and in this group the magnificent guarachera Caridad Hierrezuelo began her career as a soloist.

In later years José Artemio joined the legendary interpreter Pacho Alonso to create the group Los Modernistas de Pacho, a group that when it moved to the capital city changed its name to Los Bocucos. But the magnificent tres player decided to stay in Santiago and later joined as a founder of Carlos Manuel's group and in a short period changed its name to Guitarras y Trovadores.

José A. Castañeda, who did not remain long in some groups, was called for work to enroll in the orchestra of Pancho Portuondo and his Muchachos Pimienta. Subsequently he joined the Colorama orchestra directed by Luis Carrillo, brother of the world-famous Isolina Carrillo.

With more maturity in his musical work and in search of affinity with his dreams of being a son singer, the musician from Santiago went to Camagüey province and began working at the Camagüey Club cabaret with the group of the same name. Due to his fairly nomadic life, he joined the Mayombe group, and later the Avance Juvenil group, directed by Enrique Álvarez, father of Enriquito and Adalberto Álvarez. Finally, Castañeda Hechavarría, after some years, moved to La Habana and began working at the radio station Radio Progreso with Celina and Reutilio in the Ariguanabo group, work he combined with the well-known group Jóvenes del Cayo.

The composer, tres player and eternal dreamer Artemio Castañeda, after joining Los Jóvenes del Cayo, created the Volares orchestra and later joined the Estrellas Cubanas orchestra directed by master Félix Reina. But his consecration as a composer and leading tres player came when he joined the Rumbavana group created by Ricardo Ferro and directed by the excellent pianist and director Joseito González, where he remained for eight years.

In his career as a performer and recording artist, José A. Castañeda has performed with his tres and his talent in the following groups:

1-Orquesta Típica Estrellas Cubanas
2-Conjunto Rumbavana
3- Conjunto Saratoga
4- Conjunto Niño Rivera
5- Orquesta típica Volares
6-Conjunto Cubacha
7-Conjunto Soneros de Cuba
8- María Teresa Vera
9- Dúo Los Compadres
10- Solista Rey Caney
11 Conjunto Pacho Alonso
12- Agrupación Pachito Alonso (Hijo)
13- Luis Frank (El Macri)
14- Grupo Buena Vista Social Club
15- Solista Ibrahím Ferrer
16- Solista Pío Leiva
17- Solista Adilia Castillo (Venezuelan artist)
18- Septeto Son Maracaibo
19-Orquesta típica Son Maracaibo
20- Trío Rey Caney
21- Cuarteto de son La Vieja Trova Santiaguera

Songs created by José A. Castañeda and recorded by various groups:
Glory to Benny Moré. Orquesta Estrellas Cubanas.
Love Me Little Love, If When You Kiss Me, Hey Buddy and How Good They Are. Conjunto Rumbavana
The Tres Player Arrived. Pachito Alonso (son), voice Caridad Cuervo
I'm Just as I Wanted and Maracaibo Oriental. Cuarteto Caridad Hierrezuelo
I'm Just as I Wanted. Zaida Errate with Caney group.
Come Here to Guaracha. Rey Caney with Javier Vázquez's orchestra
Welcome to My Son. Antonio Machín (Spain)
Everyone Dances. Rolo Martínez, with EGREM orchestra.
I'm Just as I Wanted and Maracaibo Oriental. Caridad Hierrezuelo and Orquesta Manolito Simoné
Come Here to Guaracha. Reinaldo Hierrezuelo with La Vieja Trova Santiaguera.
I'm Just as I Wanted and Little Step Forward I Will Continue. Conjunto Soneros de Cuba
Little Step Forward I Will Continue, Welcome My Son and License to My Son. Conjunto Casino
Hey Buddy and Glory to My Son. Septeto Son Maracaibo, voice Raúl Planas.
Luis Frank (El Macri) and his group. Maracaibo Oriental, voice Pío Leiva and Ruddy Calzado
I Already Have a Star. Trío Caney.
For the Old Man and To Be Both Happy. Orquesta Típica Volares.
Your Conscience and My Son and No Matter What. Conjunto Cubacha.
In a medley of sons includes Maracaibo Oriental. Orquesta Danden
Maracaibo Oriental. Rojitas and his orchestra.
The Changüí Son and Maracaibo Oriental. Mayito Rivera and various interpreters in an All Star.
Maracaibo Oriental. Henry Pord and his group
Maracaibo Oriental. Alfredito Rodríguez

Regarding the song Maracaibo Oriental, Castañeda recounts that he gave it to Benny in La Habana, precisely at a party in the La Cumbre neighborhood, where Benny sang with Mariano Mercerón's orchestra and the choral support of Pacho Alonso and Fernando Álvarez.

I was there with the Maravilla de Beltrán group. During a brief recess Fernando called me over for a drink and asked me: are you a bit of a composer? I nodded, and immediately I told him, I have a song here that Benny is going to like.

Benny approached and without hesitation I sang Maracaibo Oriental to him, and then he, enthusiastically made a gesture of approval and exclaimed, That's the song I was missing!

Everything was arranged, the music was made with arrangements by Generoso Jiménez, but at the time of recording the arrangement didn't appear. In that situation, we were all bewildered and Generoso, to find an elegant solution to the dilemma, proposed recording another number. Benny didn't agree because he was committed to me. It was at that moment when he said… Well, let's record from memory, because I made a commitment with Oriente, as he called me, to record this song when he came to La Habana.

Then with that musical memory and that melodic timbre that always characterized him, he said Piano, bass! and from memory he hummed the first chords to them… Ton to, ton, ton to ton, which they followed masterfully and immediately he sang,….tatarito tan, and turning to Negro Vival, one of the trumpet players, he indicated to him and you inspire and then deliver to me!

Negro Vival was my godbrother and he made an improvisation so genius that no one could ever equal it.

As you can see, the recording was done in an improvised manner, of course! there were the greats of Cuban music, and in relation to Generoso's arrangement, the paper never appeared!

Days later, at the moment of listening to the number I was working on route 10, there in Jacomino, but in construction. The first thing I heard from a record player located quite close to me was the bass groove. I was stunned, paralyzed. The construction worker who was above me shouted at me, hey mix, mix! I turned to him and I also shouted, what mix nor what mix if that musical number is mine! Those around me laughed and said, ah you're crazy!

Right there I abandoned the work, got into a barrel of water, wiped off some of the cement and announced to them, from today I'm a construction worker! and get everything ready because I'm coming to collect on Friday!

The number was a total success. From then on no one called me José Artemio anymore but Maracaibo Oriental.
The song Maracaibo Oriental by Castañeda Hechavarría has been used in the films La vida es silbar, Manuela, Fachando festa by the Cuarteto Hostal Valencia and in El Benny. Castañeda knows Benny Moré, who performed the changüí Maracaibo Oriental, and the success of the work was so resounding that the author popularly lost his name and everyone began calling him Maracaibo.

In the years that followed, José A. Castañeda (Maracaibo), turned out to be a notable personality as a composer and as a skilled musician in performing the tres, an Eastern Cuban instrument diffused throughout almost the entire world.

The dynamic tres player and composer traveled in 1995 with Caridad Hierrezuelo and La Vieja Trova Santiaguera to Madrid, signed an excellent contract and performed in the beautiful Spanish capital and several other Iberian cities.

In 1996 he returned to the European continent with the Eastern guarachera, this time performing in Spain and Germany. The tour lasted five years and they had a colossal success.

José A. Castañeda, now better known as Maracaibo, returned to the charge in 2001. With his tres and his extensive knowledge of the entire son, he joined La Vieja Trova Santiaguera made up of the following octogenarian members: Aristóteles Limonta, Reinaldo Creach, Ricardo Ortiz, Reinaldo Hierrezuelo and Castañeda himself to create a quintet that turned out to be a true sensation in Spain, Germany and other European countries. On the European continent the old Orientals performed: recitals, radio transmissions, record companies competed for the guarachas, sones, boleros and the entire range of authentic Cuban music in its most traditional expression, which lasted until 2004. But Maracaibo continued moving between groups and orchestras and after finishing his performance with the old Orientals of La Vieja Trova Santiaguera, in 2004 he joined the Bart Buenavista group directed by Luis Frank Arias (El Macri) until 2008.

Thus the restless tres player remained on standby awaiting an ambitious project by El Macri related to the recording of a CD with the German label Termidor, with whom Castañeda has nine songs and two by his wife named Blanca R. Castillo. This project in Cuba is produced by Luis Frank Arias (El Macri). The orchestral arrangements of these works are made by musician Nicolás Silgado using his group. Related to this period, Castañeda Hechavarría created a group and recorded with interpreter Raúl Plana works of his authorship in a CD, which was licensed by the record label Termidor and released for sale in Germany with the title, Life is a Dream. He called the group in question Son Maracaibo.

Other works created by Castañeda were one dedicated to mothers and another dedicated to his compatriot and friend Ibrahím Ferrer titled "How You Lost It," both included in the aforementioned CD.

Castañeda Hechavarría is an advisor and mounts several of his works with the legendary Septeto Habanero, a group that will soon be celebrating ninety years of its founding, thanks to the brilliant idea of those legendary musicians who in 1920 created the famous group whose members were: Gerardo Martínez Rivero, (1906-1958), Felipe Neri Cabrera (1876-1936), Carlos Godínes Facenda (1886-1952), Guillermo Castillo Garcías (188?-1949), Antonio Bacallao and Oscar Sotolongo.