Justo Vega, a Gallant Poet

His verses and Cuban flavor had a style which was so typical of this rural and urban poet

Ana Margarita Sánchez Soler  asanchez@enet.cu

Being a poet is one of the greatest satisfactions life can give. There are many poem-lovers, but not all of them are able to inspire the world.

The Cuban repentista Justo Vega is bearer of the peculiar poetic style of this island, whose lyrics comes to light immediately and cause a lot of amazement.

He is easy to remember due to his popular disputes with Adolfo Alfonso. These are the images coming to my mind when I think of Justo. He added some peculiar spice to the musical controversies with Alfonso. Justo was energetic, convincing; sometimes he seemed to lose his temper.

All that was part of a show which drew the attention of the public a curious ensemble of rhymes, sayings and proverbs. That resulted in a Cuban musical expression which was the very raison d’etre for Vega.

Justo was born in Matanzas but destiny brought him to Havana and specifically to Radio CMQ. Before appearing on the radio he worked in all kind of trades. Maybe he could not imagine that he had a poet inside. That was a path he would never quit.

The TV program Palmas y Cañas was also his home. There he delighted millions of people who looked attentively at his face. Justo’s expressions were strict when facing a hard challenge. He always acquitted himself well because his prodigious inspiration was his winning card.

Numberless are the nice moments Cuban repentism lived with Justo. His verses and Cuban flavor had a style which was so typical of this rural and urban poet. How many landscapes were described in his voice! How many times he aroused the sleeping verses. He honored his pseudonim: The gentleman of Cuban rural poems.

Translated by ESTI