Gabino was a telecommunications engineer but the occupation that made him known by a good part of the most eminent performers in Santiago de Cuba and the rest of the nation, and the general public, was that of guitarist.
Without the slightest fear of error, it can be stated that Jardines Cisneros was one of the best practitioners of the accompanying guitar in Cuba.
And paradoxically, he did not begin the activities of the staff using the popular six-string instrument but as a clarinetist, in a musical band formed in the Don Bosco Church, on Cristina Street (Jesús Menéndez or Lorraine), between Trocha and Gasómetro in the Mariana de la Torre neighborhood, very close to the Santiago bay.
Raulicer García Hierrezuelo, provincial director of Culture, said he was dismayed by Gabino’s death, and assured “he accompanied true luminaries from here or who came to sing in our city, but in the most personal order, I can tell you that it was a admirable person.”
Of course, Gabino was admirable for that special way of treating others, a statement that not only covers this stage of his as a professional musician but also from far back in time, in the neighborhood where the “Don Bosco” was located; on 11th Street, in “Mariana de la Torre” where he lived; when he was part of the ETAM combo (Antonio Maceo Technological School (Arts and Crafts)); during his time as a maintenance electrician in a sock factory, on Aguilera Street, between Gallo and Peralejo or Factoría; also in the Great Textile Factory, on René Ramos Latour Avenue…
Gabino, despite his very technical craft, was at the same time already an expert in the guitar, hence his renown among the amateur artists of Santiago de Cuba and the musical combos that proliferated in the city.
There was some resistance at the beginning, when still among the textile machines, he did not decide whether to devote himself completely to the guitar. Luckily for Cuban culture, Santiago, and for dozens and dozens of singers, Gabinito finally opted for the queen of musical instruments. And he immediately rose to prominence, something that was not news to those who knew his possibilities, his mastery of the six strings.
His resume indicates that, in addition, he studied saxophone at the Esteban Salas Conservatory and that he “has accompanied” relevant figures of Cuban and international song, for example: Elena Burke, Omara Portuondo, Álvaro Torres (El Salvador), Omara Portuondo, Johnny Ventura and Sonia Silvestre (Dominican Republic), Domenico Modugno (Italy), Beatriz Márquez, Farah María, Eva Griñán, Ela Calvo…
And from the new generation: Annié Garcés, Luna Manzanares, Eduardo Sosa…
Other lands knew the skill and profound mastery of the guitar by Gabino: France, the city of Barranquilla, in Colombia; The Congo, Congo de Oro Orchestra Festival, Canary Islands, Holland, Belgium, the State of Pernambuco, Brazil; the city of Oslo, in Norway, Suriname…
Also, he was a member of the jury of the musical contest where luminaries such as Oscar D’León, Grupo Niche, Yoe Arroyo competed…
Member of Uneac and the Advisory Council and the evaluation court of the Miguel Matamoros Music and Entertainment Company, the figure of Gabino was always familiar with his guitar, in events such as the Pepe Sánchez Trova Festival, the Boleros Festival de Oro, the Caribbean Festival, the MatamoroSon…
One of the protagonists of the documentary Todo el Mundo es Música, on Spanish TV, was Gabino Jardines Cisneros, always united by superior art, to that legend of Cuban trova that is Alejandro Almenares.
Converted into a musical personality, despite wanting to hide behind his proverbial humility, Gabino was essential and with the naturalness that characterized him, he accepted the invitations he received to record, duos, trios, from the Septeto Santiaguero, on the phonogram Estate; of his foray into the albums “Pensando en ti”, by Egrem, and “Virgen de la Esperanza”, by BisMusic…
To his jovial and open character with everyone: consecrated or beginners, Gabino combined an outstanding work and disposition, and added this to his professionalism and knowledge of the instrument, they opened the way for him to distinctions such as trophies (several years) in the guitar competition in La Palma, Canary Islands; Honor Award, at Cubadisco; Distinction for National Culture; the José María Heredia Plaque…
His family and neighbors there in the house a few meters from Las Cruces, heading to Altamira will have no consolation for the suddenness of the event; They do not come out of the surprise although already resigned to the bitter reality, friends, troubadours, musicians from the city, Grisel Gómez and Giselle Lage… or simply everyone who knew Gabino Jardines Cisneros, an essential part of Cuban music but especially of the trova… and Eva Griñán now welcomes him up there to once again form a duo that here on earth, everyone knew was made up of two angels: one on the voice and the other on the strings.
Editor’s Note
At 5:00 pm the funeral services for Santiago guitarist Gabino Jardines were about to begin, at the Casa de la Trova Pepe Sánchez.
