One of the great trova composers — Sindo Garay lived to be 101 and created boleros and trovadoresque songs that remain classics of the Cuban repertoire, composed without ever having learned to read music.
Sindo Garay (Antonio Gumersindo Garay García) was a self-taught guitarist and composer from Santiago de Cuba who became one of the most celebrated figures in the Cuban trova tradition. He composed entirely by ear — never learning musical notation — yet created harmonically sophisticated songs that trained musicians admired and performed.
His long life (1867–1968) spanned the entire development of Cuban popular music from before the bolero era through the timba"> timba age. His compositions — including Perla marina, El huracán y la palma, and many others — are standards of the bolero and trova repertoire.