Isaac Oviedo

Isaac Oviedo
Oviedo playing the tres, c. 1930.
Background information
Born	(1902-07-06)July 6, 1902 Sabanilla del Encomendador, Unión de Reyes, Matanzas, Cuba
Died	June 26, 1992(1992-06-26) (aged 89) Havana, Cuba
Genres	Son cubano, trova, guaracha, afro-son, bolero
Occupation(s)	Musician, bandleader, songwriter
Instruments	Tres, guitar, laúd, vocals
Years active	c. 1920–1992
Labels	Victor, Brunswick, Areito, Rounder
Associated acts	Los Unionenses, Septeto Matancero, Barbarito Díez, Quinteto Selecto

Isaac Oviedo (July 6, 1902 – June 16, 1992) was a Cuban tres player, singer and songwriter. He was the founder and leader of the Septeto Matancero for over 50 years, and the author of many famous sones such as "Engancha carretero". Throughout his long career Oviedo only recorded a handful of sessions, mostly for American record labels. He has been called "one of the greatest Cuban tres players" by other musicians such as Efraín Ríos and Pancho Amat. According to the latter, Oviedo was the pioneering and most influential tresero of the septeto format (the major type of son ensemble of the 1920s and '30s). His technical innovations include the alzapúa thumb stroke and the use of the pinky finger.

His son Ernesto played in his band since the 1940s and became a successful bolero singer, while his other son Gilberto, known as Papi Oviedo, has also had a long career as a tresero, playing with Conjunto Chappottín, Estrellas de Chocolate and Orquesta Revé.

Isaac Oviedo was born on July 6, 1902 in the village of Sabanilla del Encomendador (now known as Juan Gualberto Gómez) in the municipality of Unión de Reyes, Matanzas, Cuba. His family was poor and his mother worked as a sugarcane cutter. From an early age he taught himself to play the guitar. At age 11 he learned to play the tres from a musician from Santiago de Cuba who had relocated to Matanzas after the War of Independence. By his late teens he was playing in Pepito López's orchestra, and also formed his own band, Los Unionenses. He played at the Sauto Theater, and in 1922 founded the Sexteto Matancero alongside guitarist Julio Govín. He then took his group to Havana in 1926, as many other rural artists were doing at the time. Between 1926 and 1928 he played at various bars and cabarets in Marianao, the most touristic seaside neighbourhood of Havana. In this period Graciano Gómez joined the band on guitar and Barbarito Díez became the lead singer. With them, the Sexteto Matancero held its first recording sessions on February 7, 1928, for Victor. They recorded "Engancha carretero", Oviedo's most successful and critically acclaimed song, noted for its creole character.