Guajira is a style of Cuban acoustic music that appeared in the early 20th century. It is led by a 12-string guitar called a tres, known for a distinctive tuning. Guajira can be compared to jibaro , a form of rural Puerto Rican music. The Guajira has been imported into the flamenco music of Spain as a popular song form.

Guajira was refined and popularized by the Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist Guillermo Portabales, whose elegant style was became known as salon guajira . From the 1930s until his untimely death in a traffic accident on Puerto Rico in 1970, Portabales recorded and performed salon guajira throughout North and South America to tremendous popular acclaim.