Nuevatrovaobit: Santiago Feliu

Santiago Feliu, the Cuban Nueva Trova singer songwriter, has died.

Feliu started playing the guitar at the age of five. As a small child, he held the guitar the "wrong" way round; the stance worked for him and he stuck with it all his life.

At a gig last year, Feliu decided he'd not done his best on some of the songs, and opted to have a second go. He was concerned, though, that not all the audience would view this as a bonus, as On Cuba reported:

He admits he did not like the way in which some of them were played, even though we all have been especially pleased. “You can stay in the room, or leave if you wish,” he says to the audience, his audience that has been faithful after decades, and knows him and loves him as he is. His public stays and accompanies him in this act of precious reparation, almost contradictory when they have already forgiven him when, with sympathetic laughter, made ​​an inexplicable pause in the midst of a song and meticulously lit a cigarette, before saying: “I swear I do not remember what the fuck follows now.”

Feliu once described his aim as trying to find the best balance between music and poetry - which is something of a surprisingly rare aim in some musicians.

If you've a bit of time to spend, here's a 2013 show at the Universidad de Madres de Plaza de Mayo:


Santiago Feliu was 51; the immediate cause of his death is being reported as a massive heart attack.