"Dos gardenias" is a bolero written in 1945 by Cuban composer and pianist Isolina Carrillo.[2] Widely considered a standard of the Latin music repertoire, the song became a hit for Daniel Santos in 1948, due to his recording with La Sonora Matancera with an arrangement by Pérez Prado.[3][4] Years later the composition would achieve international fame beyond the Spanish-speaking world thanks to Ibrahim Ferrer's 1996 recording with the Buena Vista Social Club collective.
| "Dos gardenias" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| Language | Spanish |
| Written | 1945 |
| Published | 2 April 1947[1] |
| Genre | Bolero |
| Songwriter(s) | Isolina Carrillo |
Recording history
edit"Dos gardenias" was first recorded by Guillermo Arronte for the RHC-Cadena Azul radio station in Havana, in 1945.[2] Arronte would later become Carrillo's husband. That year Avelina Landín popularised the song in Mexico.[4] The song achieved its greatest success in Cuba in 1947 thanks to the recording by La Sonora Matancera with an arrangement by Pérez Prado and lead vocals by Daniel Santos.[4] Fernando Álvarez recorded the song that year as well, which became Carrillo's favourite rendition.[4] Soon after, Antonio Machín made the song famous in Spain.[4]
In 1948, jazz singer Miguel de Gonzalo recorded the song for Peerless Records backed by Julio Gutiérrez's orchestra.[5] He later recorded another version with Sonora Matancera for Stinson Records under the name Conjunto Tropicavana for legal reasons.[6]
References
edit- ^ De León, Carmela (2003). Dos gardenias para ti (in Spanish). Santiago de Cuba, Cuba: Oriente. p. 154. ISBN 978-959-11-0367-3.
- ^ a b De León (2003) p. 38.
- ^ Ledón Sánchez, Armando (2003). La música popular en Cuba (in Spanish). Oakland, CA: Intelibooks. p. 33. ISBN 9780932367150.
- ^ a b c d e Betancourt, Lino (October 14, 2013). "Las inolvidables gardenias de Isolina" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
- ^ "Dos Gardenias by Miguel de Gonzalo". Strachwitz Frontera Collection. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Ugueto Liendo, Luis Armando (7 February 2020). "El enigma Miguel De Gonzalo". Radio Gladys Palmera (in Spanish). Retrieved 7 May 2020.