Improviser.
Luis Gómez was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, at the end of the second decade of the 20th century and died in that same city in 2001.
The décima or espinela, an octosyllabic poetic structure, became very popular in the Cuban countryside since it was played in a peculiar and varied musical format. The Spanish influence, specially through immigrants coming from the Canary Islands, contributed to its dissemination in Cuba in the way troubadours sang the blessings and sufferings of the peasants. ì
This genre, performed by excellent poets and improvisers, is very popular in the central region of the country. Among its most outstanding performers is Luis Gómez, known as "El Dinámico" who, since the 1920s, created a sort of rural bohème that included the peasant parties called guateques, parrandas and improvisation contests traveling from one town or batey to another.
Luis Gómez was an remarkable improviser. El "Indio" Naborí, Va
liente, Guerra, Chanito, Coliorín, just to mention a few representative names of this genre in Cuba, witnessed his amazing quick responses and closing verses in every improvising contest he participated in.
Likewise, always tuned up as a singer, his voice melodically and rhythmically conveys the texts of the poems, where every word matches with the music.
An eternal romantic, often broken-hearted, he searched for a beauty he never found. For that reason, the fineness with which he faced lack of affection made him fortunate in the midst of his misfortune. .
