Almost nobody knows his real name. However, when you talk about El Guayabero, his peculiar figure and ''criollísimo'' humor in his songs come to every Cuban`s mind. As minstrels do, Faustino Oramas narrates the chronicle of our daily life, using his strong voice, great octosyllabics and a criollo double-sense humor. All these features earned him fame and an eternal place within the memory of Cuban popular music.

Faustino Oramas was born on January 4, 1911 in Holguín. His family, having a very poor origin, was forced to work on hard conditions to secure their survival. Oramas family lacks musical tradition, so the young Faustino was self-taught in music. Although his first work was at a printing house, the enchant of the music soon claimed for him. Being only 15 years old, he entered the ''Tropical Band'' as singer and maracas player. This band included three guitars, maracas, trumpet and a bass.

In 1938, he composed En Guayabero and this song gave him the nickname. This song was a consequence of a misunderstanding that happened at a sugar mill from the small village of Miranda.

The band went to play for the workers in pay-day, as soon as they finished the performance, went to the village's bar. There was a beautiful brunette girl serving drinks for the musicians, she was the lover of the local police chief officer (like in many small towns, the police chief served also as governor). Somebody told him that his ''trigueña'' was serving drinks to some musicians. There's no need to say that Faustino and his fellows had to leave the place in an unusual speed. The incident was remembered in ''Guayabero'' and his probably most famous song saw the light. ''I'm a public man thanks to the inspiration for a brunette girl, or better, a jealous husband in a small placed named Guayabero, where I went to sing and get some money and I almost found the death. She was nice, very kind to me and someone in the bar told her husband, a ''cabo'' from the Rural Guard, result?, I ran away with my musicians while singing the new song:

''Dear Brunette, don't deny your love to me /
In Guayabero mamá, they want to hit me...

Afterwards, the notable Pacho Alonso asked me for the song. He recorded it first with Los Bocucos, later on with his own orchestra and took it all over the world around the 60s''.

This was the Guayabero's birthday. However, since Faustino was 15, he played maracas and sang at Benigno Mesa's Septet, coloring country parties in which, even the music was on credit. Later on, the radio station CMKO, transmitting from Holguín a live program, opened a space for his guarachas and genuine criollo repertoire

Tall and sinewy, Faustino Oramas seems to have the exact size for guaracha, this female and playful music capable of giving birth the twins named double sense and inspiration. Our man gives a natural gift to the rhythm, invincible even for the deafness of the years. Always, like the singular Ñico Saquito or Pedro Luis Ferrer, with this fine grace that makes no concessions to vulgarity.

Excerpted from a Tropicana International`s article and reproduced by Azurina.