EP record Linda Soroa — Ramón Veloz with the guitars of Ojeda (Areíto/EGREM 7″ 45 rpm EP, EPA-6133)

Audio Recording

Archive of Cuban Socialism

Name/Title

EP record "Linda Soroa" — Ramón Veloz with the guitars of Ojeda (Areíto/EGREM 7″ 45 rpm EP, EPA-6133)

Entry/Object ID

2025.1.283

Description

A 7-inch, 45 rpm extended-play vinyl record in its illustrated paper sleeve, produced and distributed by EGREM on its Areíto label (the red-and-white disc label bears the Taíno cemí device and the slogan "La música cubana alrededor del mundo"). It collects four numbers in the Cuban guajira / música campesina idiom sung by Ramón Veloz, accompanied by "las guitarras de Ojeda." Side A: "En Mi Cuba Tropical" (guajira-son, by Roberto de Moya) and "Linda Soroa" (guajira, by Roberto Font); Side B: "Guasabeándome" (son montuno) and "Solito, Muy Solito" (guajira montuno), both by Sergio G. Siaba. The front cover shows a young woman in a red-and-white striped sleeveless top, seated in profile with her hands clasped over one knee, before a soft-focus green cascade — an image evoking Soroa, the Pinar del Río waterfall-and-orchid resort named in the title track. The back credits the color illustration to "Divulgación INIT," the sleeve design to Noelvis (Díaz), gives the catalog number EP-6133, and notes "Producido y distribuido por egrem – La Habana – Cuba – (Curva RIAA)." Condition: heavily aged and edge-worn sleeve, foxed and stained; a pencilled "225" (likely a price or inventory mark) appears on the back.

Context

EGREM, Cuba's state recording enterprise (founded 1964), issued it on Areíto; the cover image came from the publicity ("divulgación") department of INIT, the Instituto Nacional de la Industria Turística, which was created on November 20, 1959. INIT's early mandate centered on domestic tourism — making the island's beaches and beauty spots accessible to ordinary Cubans — and Soroa was exactly that kind of attraction. The music reinforces the message: the guajira and son montuno repertoire idealizes the Cuban countryside, and the title track is a sung tribute to a specific Cuban place. Ramón Veloz (1927–1986), born in Marianao, Havana, was the leading voice of the guajira de salón and música campesina; with his cancionero-tenor voice he turned especially to the guajira genre, developing a social and cultural interest in the life of the Cuban peasant, and he later co-founded the long-running television program "Palmas y Cañas" dedicated to this music, with his wife and artistic partner Coralia Fernández.

Audio Format

45 RPM Record

Recording Type

Music

Collection

The Cabrera Arús family collection, Leopoldo Arús Gálvez collection

Acquisition

Accession

2025.1

Album Detail

Contributors

Contributor

Ramón Veloz

Role

Singer

Record Label

Areíto

Musical Genre

guajira

Place Recorded

City

Havana

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Language

Spanish

Album Artwork Description

Model Luz María Collazo is photographed with the Soroa falls in the background.

Notes

Design by Noelvis Díaz Dating: no printed date. The Areíto/EGREM imprint (EGREM founded 1964) and the "Divulgación INIT" credit (INIT active 1959–1976) bracket it; the catalog number EPA-6133 sits below the EPA-6301 of the Enrique Bonne EP catalogued earlier, suggesting a slightly earlier release — best dated to the mid-1960s (c. 1964–1967).

Track Details

Title

En mi Cuba Tropical

Location

back cover

Transcription

2 25

Translation

$2.25

Material/Technique

Pencil

Dimensions

Height

18.5 cm

Width

18.5 cm

Parts

vinyl, record case

Accessories

Accessory

Case

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Place

Location

Soroa

City

Pinar del Río

State/Province

Pinar del Río

Country

Cuba

Region

Caribbean, Central America

Notes

imagery

Web Links and URLs

Gladys Palmera collectionAreit

Research Notes

Notes

Names to confirm: "las guitarras de Ojeda" likely refers to a guitar group led by Miguel Ojeda, a laudista/guitarist long associated with Veloz (they played together in the Trío Cubanacán) — worth verifying.

Notes

Provenance mark: the pencilled "225" on the back is probably a shop price ($2.25)

Created By

Hana Flamm

Create Date

March 25, 2022

Updated By

María A. Cabrera Arús

Update Date

June 16, 2026