The new version of Guantanamera has been retro-fitted with a new title, "Viva la Guantanamera," a new beat and new lyrics. Guantanamera means the girl from Guantanamo. But the new words deal with a better-known association with Guantanamo these days: the American prison there.

A variety of musicians performing the just released on line only single, Viva la Guantanamera. It's an eclectic gathering of artists. It includes members of rock funk band Ozomatli, the Klezmatics, and hip hoppers Kemo the Blaxican and Hip Hop Hoodios. Abe Velez is one third of Hip Hop Hoodios.

Velez says the goal of this collaboration was to make "Guantanamera" current, but to keep the spirit of the original.

Velez: "We were hoping to maintain some sweetness and really not do violence to the original song. You know, and have something sweet along with the fact that we were actually doing something gritty with the lyrics. We wanted it to remain musical and entertaining."

Let's back up briefly and recall what Guantanamera has been. Folk singer Pete Seeger has recited its history countless times in concert. He tells how poet Jose Marti wrote the words in the mid 1890s.

Seeger: "And about a year or two after this poem was written, he was killed in an abortive uprising. And after his death, the poem was fitted to the tune, the popular tune."

That tune was written in 1929 by Cuban composer Joseito Diaz. Diaz called his tune "Guantanamera" about a sultry girl from Guantanamo. A few years later, a third writer fused Marti's words with Diaz's song. The result is what we know today as "Guantanamera." And it's the starting point for this new version. Musician Abe Velez says he and the other performers saw a way to connect the present to the past.

Velez: "When we made the song, I liked the idea of taking that tropical, bucolic image of this prototypical, idyllic Cuban woman, and use that to some extent as a metaphor for the purity of habeas corpus."

You heard that right. The right to a fair and speedy trial is a beautiful woman from the east end of Cuba. Velez says he's a little concerned listeners may not get that. Not to worry. Even though the White House has said it wants to close Guantanamo, the new version of the song has words that could keep President Bush on his toes. Abe Velez says he isn't counting on this song to move the Mister Bush to shut down Guantanamo.

Velez: "This may come as a surprise, but I actually hadn't even thought about Mr. President listening to our song. I hope at least he likes the beat, if nothing else, and that he gets some enjoyment that way. But I'm not sure he'll find it edifying beyond that."

Proceeds from the on-line sales of the single will benefit Amnesty International's campaign to close the Guantanamo prison camp.

Listen to the new version by the Klezmatics, Hip Hop Hoodios, et al