MANUEL Hilario Galbán Torralbas, the famous guitarist, composer and ex- director of Los Zafiros, celebrated his 80th birthday this January 14. He is one of the great stars of the Buena Vista Social Club, with a musical life dating back more than 60 years, and 170 musical tours under his belt. He remains a member of the group Los Cuatro Fabulosos.

He has won the City of Gibara Shield, the Cuban Culture Distinction, the Adolfo Guzmán Distinction, the Raúl Gómez García Medal, La Gitana Tropical Prize, and the only one missing is the National Music Prize.

He has a collection of guitars in his home in Havana’s Vedado neighborhood, including the one he played with Los Zafiros and a Fender given to him by Ry Cooder. There are photos of him with stars of music and film.

Gibara is a fishing town where many boats arrive from Nassau. In our home my whole family played music from the oral tradition, I would improvise with two of my brothers, in serenades and play the tres in amateur groups. I also played percussion which has served me well in my work as an accompanist for singers. II came into the world with music within me and learned many instruments on my own; I play piano for love.

In July of 1944, I was playing in dance halls with the Orquesta Villa Blanca, I mastered the guitar, the trap drums and when necessary I played piano. In those days I admired the music of Orquesta Avilés, the oldest in Cuba.

In 1956. I arrived in the big city with some crumpled bills in my pocket, a change of clothes and a toothbrush; I began to try my luck, it was the great moment of Cuban music, the mambo was the rage. I tuned pianos, I’m a carpenter, I still have my tools. I recorded some commercial jingles, sometimes I played in the streets, passed the hat, to earn some money. I began with a trio, we went to jam sessions, serenades, we were doing a show in the Club 6 Panamerica; for a time I was with the Conjunto Casablanca, we performed at Hernando’s Hideaway Club. I accompanied the singers Lino Borges, Caridad Hierrezuelo and Evelio Rodríguez.

Three months after the group’s debut, December 1962; in other words in March 1963. Reinaldo Hierrezuelo asked me to stand in for the previous guitarist. Los Zafiros were empiric singers, they needed a musician to accompany them, to arrange the tunes and play guitar, piano. It was difficult to accompany them without clashing with their harmony, they were an atypical quartet, different, very special.

Very musical, they had natural talent, exceptional – remember they were of mixed race, street guys – they moved to the rhythm of the clave, they were spectacular, unique.

In 1965 we went with the Music Hall de Cuba to Paris and continued on in some Eastern European countries. There we were, just a guitar and four voices, beginning to enjoy the demanding audience of the great French theater, the Paris Olympia, we were the most applauded in the broad and prestigious line up which included stars like Orquesta Aragón, Los Papines, Elena Burke. In Moscow they used to touch Ignacio Elejalde’s throat to see what he had inside of his privileged throat.

I stopped playing with Los Zafiros toward the end of 1972, the break up was stormy and sad, as happens with great loves; but the show has to go on. Another phase began, in 1973 I founded the group Batey, with a more traditional repertoire and the project took off, we did 87 tours. During that same period Chucho Valdés’ Los Irakere appeared on the scene.

In January 1998, right in the middle of the Cuban salsa boom, that was the rebirth of the old guard of Cuban trova. I played Spanish guitar with them, I also helped with the voice arrangements. We recorded two albums: La manigua and Mambo sinuendo, with Ry Cooder.

How did you come to the Buena Vista Social Club?

My arrival in Buena Vista Social Club is owed to Ry Cooder’s surprise at the way I play guitar, very similar to the legendary guitarist Duane Eddy. So Ry said, "Find Galbán," he called me the "guitar wizard," gave me a Fender guitar and asked me to do a recording with him.

We recorded Mambo sinuendo, which won the 2003 Latin Grammy for Best Tropical Contemporary Album. We improvised in the recording sessions without having rehearsed, and had stars like Orlando López "Cachao". It was an album of diverse tones, very varied and rich, hence its success.

I combine fast passages with arpeggios, while making appropriate use of the bass strings, in that way I give the sensation that more than one musician is playing. I set about synchronizing and fading the strings with the other hand, a trick that I learned backing Kike’s singing in Los Zafiros.

Exactly, I was doing the work of two guitars, remember that we had to economize on instruments because of difficulties finding pianos and other instruments in nightclubs in the decade of the 60s.

Three compositions recorded with Los Zafiros: "Oye Nicolás," "Hoy brilla el sol", and "Por muy lejos". With La Vieja Trova Santiaguera: "Se paró la moto", "De contén a contén" (dedicated to street sweepers). Other titles: "Tierno amanecer", "Baila mi guaguancó" and "Tambó, tambó".

In March of 2011, there’s the premiere of a film dedicated to one of my albums, debuting in New York’s Carnegie Hall. It’s a CD with seven great musical stars participating, among them Omara Portuondo representing Cuba. My daughter Magda Galbán and her husband Juan Antonio Leyva are doing the musical production. The executive producer is Daniel Florestano of the Montuno company which manages Buena Vista Social Club.