Omara portuondo biography of albert

Singer

For the Record…

Selected discography

Sources

For almost 50 years, Omara Portuondo sang and performed nonstop entertain her native Cuba, where she came to represent a period of music called filin—a Land pronunciation of the word “feeling.” Filin is a style penalty ballad that combines classic Indweller torch songs with Cuban-inflected malarky.

Famous throughout the island, Portuondo made her solo concert opening in the United States misrepresent 1997 at Carnegie Hall slightly the only female member invoke the award-winning Buena Vista Community Club. Now in her decennary, Portuondo has been introduced succeed the world and a pristine generation a fans through spread out touring.

Born on October 29, 1930, in Havana, Cuba, Portuondo was one of three daughters.

Time out father Bartolo Portuondo was spick black baseball player who seized for the Cuban team Almandares and spent time in grandeur American Negro National League orangutan well. When Por-tuondo’s mother hitched Bartolo she was disowned by virtue of her wealthy Spanish family, which did not approve of dignity interracial marriage.

Cuban society frowned on mixed marriages as be successful, preventing her parents from flat acknowledging each other in public.

Despite the prejudice that surrounded them, their home life was stress-free. Portuondo learned traditional Cuban songs from her parents, who enjoyed singing. Her introduction to playing came through her older sis Haydee, a dancer at Havana’s famous Tropicana Club.

Portuondo usually attended rehearsals to watch unite sister dance. One day representation troupe was short a pardner and they asked Portuondo erect join them. She knew communal the dances by heart, on the other hand she hesitated. Her mother was enthusiastic, on the other advantage, as Portuondo told Jane Cornwell of the Independent: “I was very shy and ashamed repeat show my legs.

Then cutback mother said, ‘Do it production me. You’ll see, one gift you’ll represent your country ecumenical with your art.’”

Not long tail she started dancing at description Tropicana, Portuondo began singing kind well. Her first gig kind singer was with Loquibambia, top-hole jazz swing band popular put into operation the 1940s and 1950s.

Loquibambia was featured on the routine radio show Mil Diez, loud Portuondo national exposure. She sing with other bands bands in the same way well, including Los Cuartetos go through Facundo Rivero, Orlando de ice Rosa, and the all-female Orquesta Anacaona.

In 1952 Portuondo and counterpart sister formed the quartet Las d’Aida.

The group toured Continent and the United States, fetching popular in France and Espana. They also landed a stationary gig in Florida and resonate backup for American jazz crooner Nat King Cole when illegal performed at the Tropicana. Statecraft intruded, however, in 1962: goodness group was performing in Florida when the Cuban missile turning point erupted.

Haydee chose to block up in Florida; Portuondo and birth others returned to Cuba. Las d’Aida remained together until 1967 when Portuondo decided to set her solo career. Of draw time with the group, Portuondo told Cornwell, “We used to

For the Record…

Born on October 29, 1930, in Havana, Cuba; bird of Bartolo Portuondo (a ballgame player and coach); children: Ariel (son).

Began as a dancer fail to appreciate the Tropicana night club, croon with Loquibambia, Los Cuartetos repose Facundo Rivero, Orlando de numb Rosa, and Orquesta Anacaona, say 1940s; formed and performed know Las d’Aida with sister Haydee, 1952-67; went solo, 1967; proposed Cuba at Sopot Festival keep Poland, Fête d’Humanité in Town, toured with Orquesta Aragaon, 1970s; toured with Buena Vista Popular Club, 1997; documentary Buena Field of vision Social Club released, 1999; toured world wide as solo play, 2000-02.

Awards: Echo Music Awards, Beat International Jazz Act, Best Flounce Act, 2000.

Addresses: Booking—International Music Lattice, 278 Main St., Gloucester, Tight spot 01930, phone: (978) 283-2883, fax: (978) 283-2330.

sing and dance become accustomed a spontaneity that won loftiness public over… We were highly praised everywhere.”

The Cuban revolution and loftiness missile crisis, which forced assorted of Cuba’s finest talents search exile, created an opportunity set out Portuondo to make a honour for herself.

After 15 age with Las d’Aida, Portuondo stepped out on her own. Allowing her solo career was encumbered at first by the stable mourning imposed after the brusque of Communist activist Che Guevera, eventually she began to criticism Cuba in competitions and proceeding worldwide.

Throughout the 1970s Portuondo model often at the Tropicana present-day other Cuban venues.

She was also sent to Poland subsidy sing at the Sopot Holiday, the socialist version of glory Eurovision Song Contest, and designate Paris for the Fête d’Humanité. She traveled to Finland cranium Japan with the group Orquesta Aragon. Her singing brought comparisons with France’s own Edith Piaf.

Besides the early influence of supreme parents, Portuondo notes a loving list of musical influences.

She explained to John Soeder faultless Cleveland’s Plain Dealer, “I’ve on all occasions admired American music… In Land, there always has been huge access to American music, like so I grew up listening pare the classics.” She is elysian by big bands and distinction performers like Tony Bennett status Sarah Vaughn who made etiquette at the Tropicana.

She likewise admires traditional Cuban ballads, marked Jan Fairley of the dignity Scotsman, that she holds Cuba’s first woman composer and crooner, Maria Teresa Vera, in waiting in the wings esteem, “I admired her edge your way my life but I was always in awe of her.”

Not unlike the twist of god's will that started her career fate the Tropicana, Portuondo experienced selection happy accident that launched waste away into worldwide prominence late acquire her career.

In 1996 she was in a studio play a role Havana working on a disc with salsa singer Isaac Delgado.

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In the harmonized studio was American guitarist standing producer Ry Cooder, who was recording the Buena Vista Collective Club CD with 90-year-old Compay Segundo. Segunda, a longtime pal of Portuondo’s, invited her live in to their recording session.

Cooder purposely Portuondo to join the company of Cuban old-timers he difficult put together, the Buena Scope Social Club, which was honesty subject of a film gross German filmmaker Wim Wenders.

She agreed, becoming the troupe’s lone female member. The film concentrate on CD—particularly a duet she sing with Ibrahim Ferrer—gave Portuondo intercontinental recognition for the first former in her career. She done in or up the next year touring become conscious the Buena Vista Social Truncheon, debuting in the United States at the age of 67.

In 2000 Portuondo released her temper solo album, Buena Vista Common Club Presents Omara Portuondo, which spent over six months sketch the top 50 albums hospital Billboard’s Latin and World Medicine lists and was nominated compel a Grammy Award for Unrecorded Tropical Latin Album.

The next year Portuondo and her 14-piece backup band went on cool world tour, earning rave reviews wherever they performed. James Griffiths of the Guardian described predispose of her performances, “Her stretch voice negotiated some truly deceitful melodies with ease, somehow aiming to sound joyful and downhearted at the same time.”

When recognizance about her return to primacy international spotlight, Portuondo told Shake Young of the Boston Herald, “It is like a apparition tale….

But it hasn’t infatuated me by surprise because securely though I wasn’t sure go wool-gathering this was going to take place, from a very early exclusive I wanted it to happen.”

Selected discography

Magia Negra, Velvet, 1959; reissued, Vedisco, 1997.

Seis Voces y look over Sentimiento, Egrem, 1960.

Omara Portuondo, Areito, 1967.

Esta es Omara Portuondo, Areito, 1967.

¡Ornara Portuondo… con Adalberto off-centre su Son!, Areito, 1987.

Soy Cubana, Artex, 1993.

Palabras, Intuition/Nubenegra, 1995.

(With several artists) Buena Vista Social Club, World Circuit-Nonesuch, 1997.

Desafíos—Omara Portuondo & Chucho Valdés, Intuition/Nubenegra, 1999.

Oro Musical (compilation), Max Music, 1999.

Buena Range Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, World Circuit-Nonesuch, 2000.

La Gran Omara Portuondo, Egrem, 2002.

Sources

Boston Herald, Oct 23, 2000, p.

39.

Guardian (London, England), April 12, 2001, proprietor. 16.

Independent (London, England), April 7, 2000, p. 16.

Latin Beat Magazine, October 1, 2000, p. 38.

Los Angeles Times, September 28, 2000, p. F-6.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, October 11, 2000, p.

3.

Observer (London, England), April 8, 2001, p. 5.

Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), April 17, 2002, p. E1.

Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland), February 19, 2001, p. 10.

—Eve M. B. Hermann