Omara Portuondo
Cuba's greatest living bolero interpreter — Omara Portuondo began her career in the 1950s as a singer and dancer in Havana's cabarets, became a star of the revolutionary cultural scene, and reached global audiences through the Buena Vista Social Club.
About
Born in Havana to a baseball player and a dancer, Omara Portuondo started as both a singer and a dancer, performing in the renowned Cuarteto d'Aida alongside her sister Haydée. She developed an intimate, emotionally precise bolero style rooted in the traditional Cuban trova and son-bolero tradition, and became one of the most beloved voices on the island through the 1960s and 1970s.
The Buena Vista Social Club recordings brought her to international attention. Her duets with Ibrahim Ferrer — particularly Silencio — are among the most moving moments in the documentary. She has continued recording and touring into her 90s, remaining the living embodiment of the Cuban bolero tradition. Her voice, like the tradition itself, has only deepened with time.
Rumba is the most African-rooted of all Cuban music and dance forms — born in the streets, courtyards, and docks of Havana and matanzas"> Matanzas in the late 19th century, with no European instruments, no salon setting, and no pretense of European propriety.
Lees meer >The Cuban bolero is one of the great romantic song traditions of the world — slow, intimate, and deeply emotional. It is entirely distinct from the Spanish bolero (a fast 3/4 dance) and emerged in Cuba as a vehicle for the island's most heartfelt lyric expression.
Lees meer >Matanzas has its own Casa de la Trova, reflecting the city's deep musical culture. Often called the "Athens of Cuba" for its cultural richness, matanzas"> Matanzas is the birthplace of Danzón, the stronghold of Rumba (particularly Yambú and Guaguancó), and home to the oldest living Abakuá and Arará traditions.
Lees meer >EGREM (Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales) is Cuba's state recording company, founded in 1964 after the Revolution nationalized all private recording labels. Its main facility, Estudios Areíto in Havana, is where virtually every important Cuban recording from the Revolution era was made.
Lees meer >The Buena Vista Social Club was originally a members' club in Havana's Buena Vista neighborhood, active in the 1940s and 50s as a gathering place for musicians playing Son, Danzón, Bolero, and Guaracha. It closed after the Revolution but was immortalized in 1997 when Ry Cooder brought together a group of surviving veteran musicians to record an album under the same name.
Lees meer >