Patricio Ballagas came out of Camagüey as an itinerant multi-instrumentalist — guitar, double bass, cornet, trombone, flute — before settling into the front rank of Cuban trova songwriters. His most lasting formal contribution was "double text," layering a genuine independent countermelody as a second voice rather than simple harmony beneath the lead, first heard in his best-known song, 1914's "La Timidez."