To my chagrin, I never saw Compay Segundo perform live in concert.
Máximo Francisco Repilado Muñoz (Compay Segundo) was born in Siboney in Cuba's Oriente (eastern) province. At the age of nine he moved to the nearby city of Santiago de Cuba, where I was born.
A singer, song writer and guitarist, Compay was part of the multi-Grammy Award winning Buena Vista Social club. Compay's most famous composition was Chan Chan. On July 13, 2003, Compay Segundo died. Three days later, Celia Cruz passed away. It is therefore that I fashioned the two paintings similarly.
On July 17th, 2003, the day after Celia Cruz's death (four days after Compay's passing), my favorite uncle Fernando Perez (whom we called Chichi) also died. Chichi's spirit was like that of Celia's and Compay's -- exuberant. Whenever you asked my Tio Chichi, how he was feeling, even at the end when he was sick, he always responded joyfully, "Encantado de la vida!" which means, "Enchanted with life!" At Chichi's funeral, I commented that Chichi couldn't resist jumping on the conga line to heaven, that week, right behind Compay and Celia Cruz and that there, at the gates of heaven, the three of them are gozando (dancing) together in joy.
