Omara Portuondo Singers – Artists
Cuba's great bolero and filin singer: Omara Portuondo started in the 1950s as a dancer and singer in Havana's cabarets, sang in the Cuarteto d'Aida and reached a world audience with the Buena Vista Social Club.
About
Omara Portuondo Peláez was born on 29 October 1930 in the Cayo Hueso district of Havana. Her father was the baseball player Bartolo Portuondo; her mother came from a wealthy family of Spanish descent. Omara is best known for her boleros and is seen as one of the greatest performers of filin, but she has sung everything from jazz to son.
- Dancer and singer: in 1950, like her elder sister Haydée, she joined the dance company of the Tropicana cabaret. From 1947 the sisters sang in Loquibambia Swing, the group of blind pianist Frank Emilio Flynn, with jazz influences that later became known as filin.
- Cuarteto d'Aida (1953–1967): with Haydée, Elena Burke and Moraima Secada, led by pianist Aida Diestro. They toured the United States, performed with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana and recorded an album for RCA Victor in 1957.
- First solo album: Magia negra (1958/1959), with Julio Gutiérrez, bridging jazz and Cuban music.
- Solo and with orchestras: solo from 1967. In the 1970s she sang with the charanga Orquesta Aragón, and she recorded with Los Van Van (Y que se sepa). In 1984 she made one of her most acclaimed records with Adalberto Álvarez.
- Buena Vista Social Club (1996): she sang on the album, in a duet with Ibrahim Ferrer, and appeared in Wim Wenders' film. Then came Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo (2000) and Flor de amor (2004). She is the only singer of the original album who is still part of it.
- Awards: Latin Grammys in 2009 and 2023, and in 2019 a Latin Grammy for her lifetime achievement.
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