Guantanamera

• By: Celia Cruz

Lyrics:

[Español]

[English]

Guantamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

Guantamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

De mi Cuba soberana

From my sovereign Cuba

Recuerdo aquel murmurillo

I remember that murmur

Del río junto al bohío

Of the river by the hut

Que era una estampa cubana

That was a Cuban picture

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, Guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

La libertad fue un trofeo

Freedom was a trophy

Que nos conquistó el mambí

That the Mambi won for us

Con el verbo de Martí

With the words of Martí

Y el machete de Maceo

And the machete of Maceo

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

Yo soy un hombre sincero, dijo Martí

I am a sincere man, said Martí

De donde crece la palma

From where the palm tree grows

...

...

Y antes de morirme quiero

And before I die, I want

Cantar mis versos del alma

To sing my verses from the soul

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

...

...

Cultivo una rosa blanca

I grow a white rose

En junio como en enero

In June as in January

...

...

Para el amigo sincero

For the sincere friend

Que me da su mano franca

Who gives me his honest hand

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

...

...

Guantanamera

Guantanamera

Guajira, guantanamera

Country girl from Guantánamo

...

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
Guantanamera /ɡwɑːntɑːnəˈmɛrə/ A1	noun - A woman from Guantánamo
Guajira /ɡwaˈxiɾa/ A2	noun - A Cuban country girl or woman, a type of Cuban folk music.
Cuba /ˈkjuːbə/ A1	noun - Cuba
soberana /so.βeˈɾa.na/ B2	adjective - sovereign
recuerdo /reˈkwer.ðo/ B1	verb - I remember noun - memory, souvenir
murmurillo /muɾˈmu.ri.ʝo/ C1	noun - murmur (gentle sound)
río /ˈri.o/ A1	noun - river
bohío /boˈi.o/ B2	noun - hut, shack
estampa /esˈtam.pa/ B2	noun - print, image, scene
libertad /li.βeɾˈtað/ B1	noun - freedom, liberty
trofeo /tɾoˈfe.o/ B2	noun - trophy
mambí /mamˈbi/ C1	noun - Cuban independence fighter
verbo /ˈber.βo/ B2	noun - word, eloquence
machete /maˈt͡ʃe.te/ B1	noun - machete
hombre /ˈom.bɾe/ A1	noun - man
sincero /sinˈθe.ɾo/ B1	adjective - sincere
crece /ˈkɾe.se/ A2	verb - grows
palma /ˈpal.ma/ A2	noun - palm tree
morirme /moˈɾiɾ.me/ B1	verb - to die (reflexive)
cantar /kanˈtaɾ/ A1	verb - to sing
versos /ˈber.sos/ B1	noun - verses
alma /ˈal.ma/ A2	noun - soul
cultivo /kulˈti.βo/ B1	verb - I cultivate
rosa /ˈro.sa/ A1	noun - rose
blanca /ˈblan.ka/ A1	adjective - white
amigo /aˈmi.ɣo/ A1	noun - friend
franca /ˈfɾaŋ.ka/ B2	adjective - frank, honest

Grammar:

• De mi Cuba soberana

  ➔ Genitive construction with 'de' + possessive pronoun + noun

  ➔ 'De' expresses possession or belonging, similar to 'of' in English.

• Recuerdo aquel murmurillo

  ➔ Use of the noun 'recuerdo' (reminder/memory) in the singular to express a specific memory

  ➔ 'Recuerdo' is a noun meaning 'remembrance' or 'memory', used here to evoke a specific past event.

• Cultivo una rosa blanca

  ➔ Use of the verb 'cultivar' in the present indicative for a habitual or poetic action

  ➔ The verb 'cultivar' means 'to cultivate' or 'to grow,' here used poetically to represent nurturing or developing values.

• Yo soy un hombre sincero, dijo Martí

  ➔ Use of the present tense 'soy' + 'un hombre sincero' to describe identity or qualities

  ➔ 'Soy' is the first person singular of 'ser' (to be), used here to state identity.

• Con el verbo de Martí

  ➔ Prepositional phrase 'con' + noun referring to 'Martí' indicating means or association

  ➔ 'Con' is a preposition meaning 'with', indicating that something is associated with Martí or using Martí's 'verb'.