Gilberto Aldanás Says Goodbye, One of the Voices of the Anthem of the 26th and Director of Los Modernistas

October 30, 2021

Gilberto Aldanás passed away on October 28 in Havana, at the age of 95.

When on February 15, 1957, in a studio at Radio Cadena Habana (San José 104), as part of the vocal quartet led by pianist, composer and orchestrator Carlos Faxas, he lent his voice to the first recording of the Hymn of July 26, written by Moncada combatant Agustín Díaz Cartaya, Gilberto Aldanás (Matanzas, March 2, 1926) did not yet have the perspective of the extraordinary historical relevance of that act; what mattered was to contribute, through art, to the promotion of the insurrectional movement against the dictatorship, whose epicenter would grow in the Sierra Maestra, with the initial nucleus of the Rebel Army, led by Fidel.

The clandestine recording of the hymn, by professional artists, added value to a song of rebellion and confidence in victory born on the eve of the assault on the Moncada barracks, and later sung by the combatants imprisoned in the Presidio Modelo.

Already in the Sierra, Fidel indicated to Faustino Pérez the need to record the score, and he entrusted the mission to Faxas. Due to harassment from the tyrant's hordes, only two copies of the phonographic recording remained, safeguarded by Aldanás, who handed them over to Faxas who, in turn, sent them to Venezuela before they were forwarded to the Sierra, where the piece identified the broadcasts of Radio Rebelde.

So revolutionary triumph came to fulfill one of Aldanás' dreams. If his vocation for music emerged early in Matanzas, in the company of Frank Domínguez, and had flourished in memorable experiences such as his time with the Sonora Matancera ensemble, in the 1960s, delegated by Faxas himself to take charge of the quartet, he transformed the vocal group into Los Modernistas, an event that lasted until 1975, when he went to Angola as an international volunteer.

Despite his advanced age, he never yielded to the temptation of rest. As a solo singer he tirelessly defended and promoted the bolero and Cuban song, supported community projects and took an interest in rescuing heritage values, as when he advocated for the restoration of the murals of the Casa del Salvavidas in Guanabo, formerly inhabited by the Hispanic-Cuban artist Maruja González.

A member of the Association of Musicians of the Uneac, Aldanás contributed to the organization energy, knowledge and, above all, a projection of the future, as he always encouraged new talents.