A "Guantanamera" is a woman from Guantanamo -- as in the US Naval Base in Easternmost Cuba -- only long before the base, when Guantanamo was the name of the town on Guantanamo Bay. The song commemorates the versus of Cuba's premier poet and nationalist, Jose Marti, who died during the Spanish American war and who had a distinguished and well documented life. There are literally hundreds of versions of this song, but most prefer the Celia Cruz interpretations as being the very best.