Facundo Cabral
Encyclopedia
Facundo Cabral was an Argentine
singer and songwriter
.
He was best known as the composer of "No soy de aquí ni soy de allá" ("I'm not from here nor there"), which he improvised during one of his concerts. His songs have been covered by Spanish language
interpreters such as Alberto Cortez
, who was also a friend of his, Juan Luis Guerra
and Joan Manuel Serrat
.
After touring the world, Cabral enjoyed popularity in his home country during the early 1980s, when Argentine radio demanded local content after the Falklands War
. He was enormously popular in all Latin American countries; when he performed in Peru or Mexico, which he called his second home, tickets were sold-out long before the performance date(s). Facundo Cabral was named a United Nations Messengers of Peace
in 1996.
, having begun as a singer in Tandil
, 350 km from Buenos Aires. From the most humble of beginnings, he came to inspire millions around the world through his songs, poems and 66 books. He walked 3,000 km at the age of nine to look for work to support his mother and six siblings after his father abandoned them. When he left his mother told him "This is the second, and last gift I can give you. The first was to give you life, and the second one, the liberty to live it". He wrote music that inspired millions. He met Mother Teresa and Jorge Luis Borges
. He performed in over 165 countries in eight different languages.
His wife and one year-old daughter were killed in a plane crash in 1978. He was nearly blind and crippled, and was a cancer survivor as well. He once said Siempre le pregunto a Dios, ¿por qué a mí tanto me diste? Me diste miseria, hambre, felicidad, lucha, luces... vi todo. Sé que hay cáncer, sífilis y primavera, y buñuelos de manzana (I always ask God, why did you give me so much? You gave me misery, hunger, happiness, struggle, lights... I saw everything. I know there is cancer, syphilis and spring, and apple fritters).
Cabral went into exile in Mexico during Argentina's 1976–1983 military dictatorship
. His songs later turned more spiritual and he continued to fill concert halls across Latin America.
while en route to La Aurora International Airport
on July 9, 2011.
He had left a hotel in the west of Guatemala City, after giving a concert the previous evening in Quetzaltenango
, and was headed to the airport when gunmen attacked his vehicle, a white Range Rover Sport
, hitting him with at least eight bullets. He died in the car. The incident occurred at around 05.20 (local time) and took place on Liberation Boulevard, a busy road that connects with the airport, but at the time of the attack was practically empty. Cabral initially planned to take a hotel shuttle to the airport, but accepted a ride from Nicaraguan concert promoter/night club owner Henry Fariñas.
Cabral was with his agent David Llanos and Henry Fariñas, who were wounded. He was accompanied by a second vehicle carrying bodyguards, but they couldn't protect the singer's vehicle from the bullets. Cabral was riding in a SUV that tried to flee the attackers by driving into a fire station. At least 20 bullet holes were seen in the Range Rover car he was in. The gunmen were in three late-model vehicles, one in front of Cabral's car and two to the right and left. One of the attackers' vehicles was later found abandoned on the road to El Salvador
. It was a brown Hyundai Santa Fe with bullet holes and containing bullet-proof vests and an AK-47 magazine. The Argentine consul in Guatemala
, Enrique Vaca Narvaja, confirmed the report of the attack.
Guatemalan authorities confirmed that the target of the attack was the concert promoter — possibly because of troubles with organized crime. Three suspects have been arrested.
The Guatemalan government reported to Argentine authorities that it had been "a planned attack".
The president of Guatemala, Álvaro Colom
, called Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
to express his condolences, also saying there was evidence that it was an ambush. Mr Colom said Guatemala had to be painstaking in its investigation. Early investigations indicated the bullets were meant for the driver, Cabral's Nicaraguan promoter Henry Fariñas, because the trajectory of the bullets were from right to left, toward the driver's seat. Three specialized investigative teams from Guatemala were assigned to the case. Henry Fariñas is also the owner of the central american chain of adult night clubs called "Elite".
President Colom decreed three days of national mourning. Hundreds of Guatemalans (most of them wearing black) sang songs written by the artist in the capital's Plaza de la Constitucion. Some of the signs carried by Guatemalans grieving the death of the beloved singer said “Argentina, we apologize,” "We ask forgiveness of the world for the assassination of Facundo;" "We are here not only for the death of Maestro Cabral, but also for every boy, girl, old man and woman, who becomes, day after day, victim of violence. Not only for Facundo Cabral, but also for the future of our children."
Presidents, performers and other personalities from the Americas have united in condemning the singer’s murder and demanded justice from the Guatemalan authorities.
Argentina's foreign minister
, Héctor Timerman
, tweeted "Adios amigo!".
Guatemala's 1992 Nobel Peace Prize
winner, Rigoberta Menchú
, went to the scene of the killing and wept. "For me, Facundo Cabral is a master," she said. "He loved Guatemala greatly."She believes the ambush may have been related to Cabral’s beliefs.
Social networks were filled with expressions of outrage. "I feel an immeasurable shame, a profound anger for my country," said Ronalth Ochaeta, former director of a Catholic Church human rights office Guatemala, on his Facebook account.
Rodolfo Ajquejay, President of the Association of Artists in Guatemala, said "this is mourning at a global level because [he] left only positive messages in his songs."
This incident "was regrettable" and was "one more manifestation of the violence in Guatemala," said Francisco Dall'Anese, the head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an organization created in conjunction with the United Nations. Guatemala's human rights ombudsman, Sergio Morales, expressed his condolences to Argentina."I ask authorities of this country that this crime not be left unsolved, to investigate," he said.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa
said "Facundo Cabral will be immortalized with his songs."
Bolivian authorities expressed their dismay at the death of the Argentine troubadour. Bolivian Minister of Culture Elizabeth Salguero
said Cabral's death saddened her because "you can not understand that there are people who want to do much damage to a man who gave so much as a singer, composer, and poet." "He was a philosopher, a fighter for social justice, and to die that way is very painful."
The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos
, also mourned his death. "Many of you must be fans of Facundo Cabral, and throughout Latin America
and us here in Colombia
. I personally regret this vile murder," Santos said at the start of a public speech in Bogota
.
The UN said in a statement: "The United Nations System in Guatemala strongly condemns the assassination of Argentine singer-songwriter Facundo Cabral and adds to the feeling of dismay and frustration of a Guatemalan society that looks beset by intolerable acts of violence. It is painfully ironic that the one who toured Latin America with a message of justice, peace and fraternity lost his life in the hands of a group of assassins. The UN expresses its solidarity with the families and loved ones of the troubadour, as well as the people of Argentina
and Latin American that had Facundo as a reference for inspiration."
Eduardo Suger, the presidential candidate for the "Commitment, Renewal and Order" party, during his tour in San Manuel Chaparron
and San Luis Jilotepeque
, Jalapa
, described as "vile and shameful" for the country the attack to Cabral. "I felt so much pain, I felt sad for Guatemala, because we are a people capable and honest, but now we paint as a people of thugs, it's embarrassing," he explained.
The secretary general of the Organization of American States
(OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the murder as an "irrational crime."
René Pérez, leader of the Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13
, wrote, “Latin America is in mourning,” and other leading pop-music figures, among them Ricky Martin
, Alejandro Sanz
and Ricardo Montaner
, also sent Twitter messages lamenting his loss.
Guatemalan artists paid tribute to Facundo Cabral on Sunday, July 10, 2011.
The Guatemalan artist guild called on all citizens to go Constitution Square to pay tribute to him. Armando Pineda, Alvaro Aguilar Alux Nahual and Rony Hernandez, Alejandro Arriaza, Gaby Andrade, and Manuel Rony were some of the artists who participated in this concert. In a letter to the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre
the singer Ricardo Arjona
wrote: "As a Guatemalan, I deeply regret the impact this news will generate among international opinion. As a friend and colleague, I will lament the absence of Facundo forever."
Vicente Serrano, host of a local Spanish-language radio show, brought Cabral to the Chicago area for that last performance. Serrano, who described Cabral as “irreverent,” remembers how the singer fell in love with the Chicago skyline and the Art Institute of Chicago. “Facundo cried when we went to visit the Art Institute because he said he was moved by its beauty,” Serrano said
Argentine singer and poet Alberto Cortez
, who lives in Madrid
, was devastated by the assassination of Cabral, who shared a "great friendship" with Cabral.
"I remember as a good friend, who suddenly became a mystic. That mysticism transmitted to people, and people accepted it with much pleasure," said
Argentine television stations interrupted their broadcasts with news of the 74-year-old singer's death. The National Government decreed three days of mourning for the death of Cabral. Recalling that "devoted his life to singing, with their letters transmitting the spirit of peace inspired by the teachings of Jesus, Gandhi and Mother Teresa of Calcutta."
The Argentine embassy in Guatemala said it would take the lead on repatriating Cabral's body, with the ambassador Ernesto Lopez saying the family was "devastated" by the events and would not be traveling to Guatemala to claim his remains.
Cabral, at the time of his murder, had been married for seven months to Silvia Pousa, a Venezuelan psychologist who had been his partner for the last ten years.
His body was flown to Argentina
from Guatemala
on July 12, 2011 on a Mexican Air Force jet.
His widow, Silvia Pousa, and nephew joined foreign minister Hector Timerman and a small group of Guatemalan and Mexican diplomats on the tarmac in Buenos Aires
to receive his remains. One official brought from the plane a guitar and a small bag. Cabral had said that was all he needed for his nearly constant singing tours.
His coffin was displayed for the public in the Ateneo theater, the same Buenos Aires theater where he last performed in his native Argentina. The widow and family of Cabral gave a statement to reporters at the Ateneo theater, which expressed "thanks to the huge amount of media around the world by the respectful coverage" of his death.
His body was taken to a cemetery 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) north of Buenos Aires for cremation at an intimate private ceremony with just family and close friends in attendance
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
singer and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
.
He was best known as the composer of "No soy de aquí ni soy de allá" ("I'm not from here nor there"), which he improvised during one of his concerts. His songs have been covered by Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
interpreters such as Alberto Cortez
Alberto Cortez
Alberto Cortez is an Argentine singer and songwriter. Cortez and his wife live in Madrid.Cortez was born in Rancul, La Pampa Province, Argentina, March 13, 1938. At the age of six entered in the elementary school and at the same time to the conservatory Alberto Williams. He begins to compose songs...
, who was also a friend of his, Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra
Juan Luis Guerra is a singer, songwriter and producer from the Dominican Republic who has sold over 30 million records, and won numerous awards including 12 Latin Grammy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and two Latin Billboard Music Awards...
and Joan Manuel Serrat
Joan Manuel Serrat
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa is a Catalan Spanish singer-songwriter.Serrat is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages...
.
After touring the world, Cabral enjoyed popularity in his home country during the early 1980s, when Argentine radio demanded local content after the Falklands War
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
. He was enormously popular in all Latin American countries; when he performed in Peru or Mexico, which he called his second home, tickets were sold-out long before the performance date(s). Facundo Cabral was named a United Nations Messengers of Peace
United Nations Messengers of Peace
United Nations Messenger of Peace is a title bestowed by the United Nations to "distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, music, literature and sports, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the United Nations.The messengers are initially chosen...
in 1996.
Biography
Cabral was born in La PlataLa Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
, having begun as a singer in Tandil
Tandil
-Place name:The name of the city comes from the Mapuche words tan , and lil . It is probably a reference to the Piedra Movediza , a large boulder which stood seemingly miraculously balanced on the edge of a rocky foothill. The Moving Stone toppled on February 29, 1912, and split into two pieces at...
, 350 km from Buenos Aires. From the most humble of beginnings, he came to inspire millions around the world through his songs, poems and 66 books. He walked 3,000 km at the age of nine to look for work to support his mother and six siblings after his father abandoned them. When he left his mother told him "This is the second, and last gift I can give you. The first was to give you life, and the second one, the liberty to live it". He wrote music that inspired millions. He met Mother Teresa and Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
. He performed in over 165 countries in eight different languages.
His wife and one year-old daughter were killed in a plane crash in 1978. He was nearly blind and crippled, and was a cancer survivor as well. He once said Siempre le pregunto a Dios, ¿por qué a mí tanto me diste? Me diste miseria, hambre, felicidad, lucha, luces... vi todo. Sé que hay cáncer, sífilis y primavera, y buñuelos de manzana (I always ask God, why did you give me so much? You gave me misery, hunger, happiness, struggle, lights... I saw everything. I know there is cancer, syphilis and spring, and apple fritters).
Cabral went into exile in Mexico during Argentina's 1976–1983 military dictatorship
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
. His songs later turned more spiritual and he continued to fill concert halls across Latin America.
Murder
Cabral was shot and killed during a tour in Guatemala CityGuatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
while en route to La Aurora International Airport
La Aurora International Airport
La Aurora International Airport serves Guatemala City, Guatemala. It is located south of Guatemala City's center and from Antigua. It is administered by the Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil....
on July 9, 2011.
He had left a hotel in the west of Guatemala City, after giving a concert the previous evening in Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango
Quetzaltenango, also commonly known by its indigenous name, Xelajú , or more commonly, Xela , is the second largest city of Guatemala. It is both the capital of Quetzaltenango Department and the municipal seat of Quetzaltenango municipality....
, and was headed to the airport when gunmen attacked his vehicle, a white Range Rover Sport
Range Rover Sport
The Range Rover Sport is a luxury-type sport utility vehicle produced by the Jaguar Land Rover business unit of India's Tata Motors.-Chassis:...
, hitting him with at least eight bullets. He died in the car. The incident occurred at around 05.20 (local time) and took place on Liberation Boulevard, a busy road that connects with the airport, but at the time of the attack was practically empty. Cabral initially planned to take a hotel shuttle to the airport, but accepted a ride from Nicaraguan concert promoter/night club owner Henry Fariñas.
Cabral was with his agent David Llanos and Henry Fariñas, who were wounded. He was accompanied by a second vehicle carrying bodyguards, but they couldn't protect the singer's vehicle from the bullets. Cabral was riding in a SUV that tried to flee the attackers by driving into a fire station. At least 20 bullet holes were seen in the Range Rover car he was in. The gunmen were in three late-model vehicles, one in front of Cabral's car and two to the right and left. One of the attackers' vehicles was later found abandoned on the road to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
. It was a brown Hyundai Santa Fe with bullet holes and containing bullet-proof vests and an AK-47 magazine. The Argentine consul in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Enrique Vaca Narvaja, confirmed the report of the attack.
Guatemalan authorities confirmed that the target of the attack was the concert promoter — possibly because of troubles with organized crime. Three suspects have been arrested.
The Guatemalan government reported to Argentine authorities that it had been "a planned attack".
The president of Guatemala, Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom
Álvaro Colom Caballeros is the President of Guatemala for the 2008–2012 term and leader of the social-democratic National Unity of Hope .-Early years:...
, called Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Fernández or Cristina Kirchner is the 55th and current President of Argentina and the widow of former President Néstor Kirchner. She is Argentina's first elected female president, and the second female president ever to serve...
to express his condolences, also saying there was evidence that it was an ambush. Mr Colom said Guatemala had to be painstaking in its investigation. Early investigations indicated the bullets were meant for the driver, Cabral's Nicaraguan promoter Henry Fariñas, because the trajectory of the bullets were from right to left, toward the driver's seat. Three specialized investigative teams from Guatemala were assigned to the case. Henry Fariñas is also the owner of the central american chain of adult night clubs called "Elite".
President Colom decreed three days of national mourning. Hundreds of Guatemalans (most of them wearing black) sang songs written by the artist in the capital's Plaza de la Constitucion. Some of the signs carried by Guatemalans grieving the death of the beloved singer said “Argentina, we apologize,” "We ask forgiveness of the world for the assassination of Facundo;" "We are here not only for the death of Maestro Cabral, but also for every boy, girl, old man and woman, who becomes, day after day, victim of violence. Not only for Facundo Cabral, but also for the future of our children."
Presidents, performers and other personalities from the Americas have united in condemning the singer’s murder and demanded justice from the Guatemalan authorities.
Argentina's foreign minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship is the Argentine government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Argentina.The current Chancellor is Héctor Timerman.-External links:...
, Héctor Timerman
Héctor Timerman
Héctor Marcos Timerman is an Argentine journalist, sociologist, political and human rights activist, diplomat, and current Argentine Minister of Foreign Relations.-Life and times:...
, tweeted "Adios amigo!".
Guatemala's 1992 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
winner, Rigoberta Menchú
Rigoberta Menchú
Rigoberta Menchú Tum is an indigenous Guatemalan, of the K'iche' ethnic group. Menchú has dedicated her life to publicizing the plight of Guatemala's indigenous peoples during and after the Guatemalan Civil War , and to promoting indigenous rights in the country...
, went to the scene of the killing and wept. "For me, Facundo Cabral is a master," she said. "He loved Guatemala greatly."She believes the ambush may have been related to Cabral’s beliefs.
Social networks were filled with expressions of outrage. "I feel an immeasurable shame, a profound anger for my country," said Ronalth Ochaeta, former director of a Catholic Church human rights office Guatemala, on his Facebook account.
Rodolfo Ajquejay, President of the Association of Artists in Guatemala, said "this is mourning at a global level because [he] left only positive messages in his songs."
This incident "was regrettable" and was "one more manifestation of the violence in Guatemala," said Francisco Dall'Anese, the head of the International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), an organization created in conjunction with the United Nations. Guatemala's human rights ombudsman, Sergio Morales, expressed his condolences to Argentina."I ask authorities of this country that this crime not be left unsolved, to investigate," he said.
Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa
Rafael Correa
Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado born is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and was the president pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he was elected President in late 2006 and took office in January 2007...
said "Facundo Cabral will be immortalized with his songs."
Bolivian authorities expressed their dismay at the death of the Argentine troubadour. Bolivian Minister of Culture Elizabeth Salguero
Elizabeth Salguero
Elizabeth "Eli" Cristina Salguero Carrillo is a politician in the Movement for Socialism – Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples and the Minister of Cultures of Bolivia. Salguero was elected as an alternate deputy for the 2010-2015 Plurinational Legislative Assembly...
said Cabral's death saddened her because "you can not understand that there are people who want to do much damage to a man who gave so much as a singer, composer, and poet." "He was a philosopher, a fighter for social justice, and to die that way is very painful."
The Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón is a Colombian politician who has been the President of Colombia since 7 August 2010. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Finance, and Minister of National Defense.-Career:...
, also mourned his death. "Many of you must be fans of Facundo Cabral, and throughout Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and us here in Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. I personally regret this vile murder," Santos said at the start of a public speech in Bogota
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
.
The UN said in a statement: "The United Nations System in Guatemala strongly condemns the assassination of Argentine singer-songwriter Facundo Cabral and adds to the feeling of dismay and frustration of a Guatemalan society that looks beset by intolerable acts of violence. It is painfully ironic that the one who toured Latin America with a message of justice, peace and fraternity lost his life in the hands of a group of assassins. The UN expresses its solidarity with the families and loved ones of the troubadour, as well as the people of Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and Latin American that had Facundo as a reference for inspiration."
Eduardo Suger, the presidential candidate for the "Commitment, Renewal and Order" party, during his tour in San Manuel Chaparron
San Manuel Chaparrón
San Manuel Chaparrón is a municipality in the Jalapa department of Guatemala....
and San Luis Jilotepeque
San Luis Jilotepeque
San Luis Jilotepeque is a municipality in the Jalapa department of Guatemala....
, Jalapa
Jalapa
* Xalapa, Veracruz* Jalapa, Baja California* Jalapa, Guerrero* In the state of Oaxaca:** Santa María Jalapa del Marqués** San Felipe Jalapa de Díaz** Jalapa del Valle* Jalapa, Tabasco...
, described as "vile and shameful" for the country the attack to Cabral. "I felt so much pain, I felt sad for Guatemala, because we are a people capable and honest, but now we paint as a people of thugs, it's embarrassing," he explained.
The secretary general of the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS), Jose Miguel Insulza, condemned the murder as an "irrational crime."
René Pérez, leader of the Puerto Rican hip-hop group Calle 13
Calle 13
Calle 13 is a Spanish cable/satellite television channel. Owned by Universal Studios Networks Spain, Calle 13 promotes itself as a channel of suspense and action and its available on Digital+ satellite TV platform and on all Spanish cable TV platforms....
, wrote, “Latin America is in mourning,” and other leading pop-music figures, among them Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...
, Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...
and Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner
Ricardo Montaner is an Argentine-Venezuelan singer and songwriter. Starting his career in the early 80s, he has already released more than 15 albums with numerous successful singles and has sold over 22 million record worldwide.-Early years:Montaner was born as Héctor Eduardo Reglero Montaner, in...
, also sent Twitter messages lamenting his loss.
Guatemalan artists paid tribute to Facundo Cabral on Sunday, July 10, 2011.
The Guatemalan artist guild called on all citizens to go Constitution Square to pay tribute to him. Armando Pineda, Alvaro Aguilar Alux Nahual and Rony Hernandez, Alejandro Arriaza, Gaby Andrade, and Manuel Rony were some of the artists who participated in this concert. In a letter to the Guatemalan newspaper Prensa Libre
Prensa Libre
Prensa Libre is a Guatemalan newspaper published in Guatemala City by Prensa Libre, S.A. and distributed nationwide. It was formerly the most widely circulated newspaper in the country and as of 2007 it has the second-widest circulation. It is considered a local newspaper of record. It was founded...
the singer Ricardo Arjona
Ricardo Arjona
Edgar Ricardo Arjona Morales, , known as Ricardo Arjona , is a Guatemalan singer...
wrote: "As a Guatemalan, I deeply regret the impact this news will generate among international opinion. As a friend and colleague, I will lament the absence of Facundo forever."
Vicente Serrano, host of a local Spanish-language radio show, brought Cabral to the Chicago area for that last performance. Serrano, who described Cabral as “irreverent,” remembers how the singer fell in love with the Chicago skyline and the Art Institute of Chicago. “Facundo cried when we went to visit the Art Institute because he said he was moved by its beauty,” Serrano said
Argentine singer and poet Alberto Cortez
Alberto Cortez
Alberto Cortez is an Argentine singer and songwriter. Cortez and his wife live in Madrid.Cortez was born in Rancul, La Pampa Province, Argentina, March 13, 1938. At the age of six entered in the elementary school and at the same time to the conservatory Alberto Williams. He begins to compose songs...
, who lives in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, was devastated by the assassination of Cabral, who shared a "great friendship" with Cabral.
"I remember as a good friend, who suddenly became a mystic. That mysticism transmitted to people, and people accepted it with much pleasure," said
Argentine television stations interrupted their broadcasts with news of the 74-year-old singer's death. The National Government decreed three days of mourning for the death of Cabral. Recalling that "devoted his life to singing, with their letters transmitting the spirit of peace inspired by the teachings of Jesus, Gandhi and Mother Teresa of Calcutta."
The Argentine embassy in Guatemala said it would take the lead on repatriating Cabral's body, with the ambassador Ernesto Lopez saying the family was "devastated" by the events and would not be traveling to Guatemala to claim his remains.
Cabral, at the time of his murder, had been married for seven months to Silvia Pousa, a Venezuelan psychologist who had been his partner for the last ten years.
His body was flown to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
from Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
on July 12, 2011 on a Mexican Air Force jet.
His widow, Silvia Pousa, and nephew joined foreign minister Hector Timerman and a small group of Guatemalan and Mexican diplomats on the tarmac in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
to receive his remains. One official brought from the plane a guitar and a small bag. Cabral had said that was all he needed for his nearly constant singing tours.
His coffin was displayed for the public in the Ateneo theater, the same Buenos Aires theater where he last performed in his native Argentina. The widow and family of Cabral gave a statement to reporters at the Ateneo theater, which expressed "thanks to the huge amount of media around the world by the respectful coverage" of his death.
His body was taken to a cemetery 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) north of Buenos Aires for cremation at an intimate private ceremony with just family and close friends in attendance
Other quotes
- "Every morning is good news, every child that is born is good news, every just man is good news, every singer is good news, because every singer is one less soldier."
- "I like the sun, Alice, and doves, a good cigar, a Spanish guitar, jumping walls, and opening windows, and when a woman cries. I like wine as much as flowers, and rabbits, but not tractors, homemade bread and Dolores' voice, and the sea wetting my feet. I like to always be lying on the sand, or chasing Manuela on a bicycle, or all the time to see the stars with Maria in the hayfield. I'm not from here, I'm not from there, I have no age, nor future, and being happy is my color of identity."
- "I'm amazed to form part of this amazing universe and I'm proud of the hunger that keeps me awake. Because when man is full he falls asleep."
- "May God want for man to be able to be a child again to understand that he is mistaken if he thinks he can find happiness with a checkbook."
- "I don't waste time taking care of myself. Life is beautiful danger. From the danger of love, my mother had seven kids. If she had guarded herself against my father and his fervor, a singer would be missing from tonight's meeting."
- "My poor boss thinks that I'm the poor one."
- "This is a new day to begin again, to look for the angel that appears in our dreams, to sing, to laugh, to be happy again. In this new day I will leave the mirror, and try to finally be a good man. I will walk with my face to the sun, and I will fly with the moon."
- "Forgive me Lord but sometimes I get tired of being a citizen. The city tires me, the offices, my family and the economy. Forgive me Lord, I am tired of this hell, this mediocre market where everyone has a price. Forgive me Lord but I will go with you through your mountains, your seas, and your rivers. Forgive me Lord but sometimes I think you have something better than this for me. Forgive me Lord, I don't want to be a citizen, I want to be a man, Lord, like you created me."
- "I am my own inventor because that is the task with which God has trusted me. God, or the Devil because they are the same thing. The Devil is a pseudonym that God uses when he has to create something of morally doubtful character, in order to not tarnish his good name, he uses the pseudonym."
- "The poor man that walks through this borrowed life without a song, in addition to being poor is a ghost, and in addition to being a ghost, is nothing."
- "We are crossing through life on the train of death seeing how progress is putting an end to people."
- "And God created woman and she said 'My Lord, if Mary conceived without sin, couldn't I sin without conceiving?'"
- "I stop in San Francisco where there's always something to hear, at least when KrishnamurtiJiddu KrishnamurtiJiddu Krishnamurti or J. Krishnamurti or , was a renowned writer and speaker on philosophical and spiritual subjects. His subject matter included: psychological revolution, the nature of the mind, meditation, human relationships, and bringing about positive change in society...
is nearby, he who knows that the fundamental revolution is to revolutionize one's self. I stop in Crete where there is always something to love." - I raise my voice in Italy and I am silent in India, because I am and I live in the present, because I am made of dreams, of emptiness, of wine, and of wheat, they call me MAN. It's true that I am dust, but sacred dust I am, even though you know that when I say I am, I am saying you are, invincible, unnameable. Highest Lord, don't worry about our daily bread because that is up to us, that's why we are men, but don't leave us without our nightly dream because without it we are nothing, we who are perhaps only a dream that you dream."
- "If I am a thief, it's because of private property."