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CUBA
NEWS
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Statue Unveiled in Cuba of Late Musician
HAVANA - With his trademark hat on his
head, his guitar case at his side and a
cigar in his slender fingers, a new life-sized
statue of late Cuban musician Compay Segundo
was unveiled in the patio of major hotel.
"We welcome Compay Segundo,"
Cuban musicologist Lino Betancourt said
Tuesday night at the presentation of the
statue at the historic Hotel Nacional. "We
thank him for his smile, we thank him for
his example, we thank him for his 'Chan
Chan,'" Betancourt added, referring
to one of the musician's most popular songs.
Born Maximo Francisco Repilado Munoz in
eastern Cuba, the man later nicknamed Compay
Segundo was 95 when he died July 13 of kidney
failure.
Compay Segundo had held numerous performances
in recent years at the Hotel Nacional, a
towering landmark on a hill overlooking
Havana's famous Malecon coastal highway.
Diplomats, Cuban officials, relatives and
fellow musicians were among about 100 people
who gathered for the presentation honoring
the guitarist and singer who skyrocketed
to international fame with his performance
1997 Grammy-winning record "The Buena
Vista Social Club."
The statue was created by sculptor Alberto
Lescay, a longtime friend of the musician.
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