On this date 131 years ago, María Teresa Vera was born in Guanajay, Cuba. She was a singer, guitarist and composer, an outstanding example of the Cuban trova movement. Her first guitar teachers were the cigar-roller José Díaz and Manuel Corona, whose criolla Mercedes she sang at the start of her career in 1911. She formed a duo with Rafael Zequeira in 1916, and they made many recordings before his death in 1924 Composer Carlos Godinez taught her more about the guitar, her friend until his death in 1950. She formed the Sexteto Occidente in 1925, and joined Lorenzo Hierrezuelo 1935, a duo that lasted 27 years. Later she appeared on radio and TV. María Teresa Vera retired in 1962. Musicologist María Teresa Linares said of her duo with Hierrezuelo, "All in all, it was the most sublime expression of the Cuban song." Credit: https://w.wiki/HnHs I rode up to the Westridge trailhead twice. The second time was maybe a bit easier. It was 15 degrees cooler than my ride on Wednesday. But I didn't start to feel cold until close to the finish, after eight miles downhill in sweaty gear. The whole ride felt relatively easy, so I was surpised how tired I felt after I got off the bike!