Antonio Gumersindo Garay y García, more popularly known as Sindo Garay, was one of the prominent troubadours of Cuban music and a symbol of national culture. Dubbed “The Great Pharaoh of Cuba” by poet Federico García Lorca, he was born on April 12, 1867, in Santiago de Cuba.
During his childhood, at the height of the Ten Years’ War, he often served as a liaison with important messages from Cuban patriots. During those times, Pepe Sánchez frequently visited his house.
In his works, Sindo Garay drew inspiration primarily from his homeland, the Cuban landscape, women, and love; he is the author of more than 600 musical works. His musical talent was empirical; he never studied at a conservatory or music academy. He displayed his natural talent alongside his guitar. He was the greatest exponent of the oriental bolero, imposing his distinctive style with the strumming of the guitar strings to complete musical expressions and the rhythmic platform with the famous Cuban cinquillo.

Among his best-known works are Bitter Truths, Bayamesa Woman, Guarina, The Afternoon, Pearl, Return, and Fierce Torment; he also composed works with a perceptible political content.
Sindo Garay first arrived in Havana in 1896, and returned ten years later to settle permanently. This important Cuban musician frequently used chromaticism in his pieces, in a manner as apt as it was astonishing. He founded the group of trova greats, along with Villalón, Ruiz, and Corona. He visited Paris in 1928 with Rita Montaner and other musicians from the island, staying for three months performing habanera programs. He also recorded a vast number of albums.
During his long life, the distinguished Cuban troubadour met several important figures; among them we must mention the patriot Guillermón Moncada, the violinist Brindis de Salas, the tenor Caruso, and the fighter Julio Antonio Mella. He is possibly the only one who enjoyed the opportunity to shake hands with José Martí and later with Fidel Castro.
He died in Havana on July 17, 1968, and was buried, at the musician’s own request, in Bayamo, the city where a musical competition bearing his name is held. Given his immense musical output and his lyrics, which reveal great poetic beauty, Sindo Garay established one of the myths of traditional troubadour music, which aroused the admiration of important musicians for the quality and variety of his compositions.
In 1990, the Letras Cubanas publishing house published the essay Sindo Garay: Memoirs of a Troubadour, meticulously written by Carmela de León, who in her book states: “Being close to Sindo was like breathing Cuba with full lungs.”