Hello,
Today's artist is the grand old lady of Cuban music. While her early recordings made her a star in Cuba, her participation in the 1996 album and video documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club, brought her to international attention. Her solo album, The Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, released in 2000, reinforced her status as one of Cuba's greatest musical ambassadors........N'Joy
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Omara Portuonda
Born on 29 October 1930 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana, Portuondo had three sisters. Her mother, Esperanza Peláez, came from a wealthy Spanish family, and had created a scandal by running off with and marrying a black professional baseball player, Bartolo Portuondo. Omara joined the dance group of the Cabaret Tropicana in 1950, following her elder sister, Haydee. She also danced in the Mulatas de Fuego in the theatre Radiocentro, and in other dance groups. The two sisters also used to sing for family and friends, and they also performed in Havana clubs. Portuondo and Haydee then in 1947 joined the Loquibambia Swing, a group formed by the blind pianist Frank Emilio Flynn.
From 1952–1953 she sang for the Orquesta Anacaona, and later in 1953 both sisters joined (together with Elena Burke and Moraima Secada) the singing group Cuarteto d'Aida, formed and directed by pianist Aida Diestro. The group had considerable success, touring the United States, performing with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana, and recording a 1957 album for RCA Victor. In 1958, pianist and composer Julio Gutiérrez invited Portuondo to sing for his ensemble in a series of recordings bridging jazz and Cuban music for the record label Velvet. The result was Magia Negra, her debut solo album. Haydee left the Cuarteto d'Aida in 1961 in order to live in the US and Omara continued singing with the quartet until 1967.
1967–present
In 1967 Portuondo began to focus on her solo career recording two albums for Areito, Omara Portuondo and Esta es Omara Portuondo.[5] In the same year she represented Cuba at the Sopot Festival in Poland, singing Juanito Márquez' "Como un milagro". Alongside her solo work, in the 1970s she sang with the charanga Orquesta Aragón, and toured with them abroad.
In 1974 she recorded, with guitarist Martín Rojas, an album in which she lauds Salvador Allende and the people of Chile a year after the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Among other hits from the album, she sang Carlos Puebla's hit "Hasta Siempre, Comandante", which refers to Ché Guevara. She also recorded "Y que se sepa", with one of the most successful Cuban bands of the late 20th century, Los Van Van. Later on she performed with Juan Formell, singing Formell's song "Tal vez", a song she recorded later on with Maria Bethania. During the 1970s and 1980s Portuondo enjoyed success at home and abroad, with tours, albums (including one of her most lauded recordings in 1984 with Adalberto Álvarez), film roles, and her own television series.
In 2004 the International Red Cross appointed her International Ambassador, the first Cuban musician to hold this title, in Montreal, Canada. In 2007 she performed the title role to sold out audiences in Lizt Alfonso's dance musical "Vida", the story of modern Cuba through the eyes and with the memories of an old woman. In this same year, her performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival was released on DVD. She recorded in 2008 a duet album with Brazilian singer Maria Bethânia named Maria Bethânia e Omara Portuondo. In 2008 she recorded the album Gracias as a tribute to the 60th anniversary of her singing career. Today, Omara lives in a high-rise apartment just off the Malecón, Havana, overlooking the sea. She remains a popular fixture on the local music scene, singing regularly at the Tropicana Club, the Delirio Habanero and the Café Cantante.
Portuondo sang (duetting with Ibrahim Ferrer) on the album Buena Vista Social Club in 1996. This led not only to more touring (including playing at Carnegie Hall with the Buena Vista troupe) and her appearance in Wim Wenders' film Buena Vista Social Club, but to two further albums for the World Circuit label: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo (2000) and Flor de Amor (2004). She remains a member of Buena Vista Social Club, being the only original vocalist to do so. Portuondo had settled into semi-retirement by the mid-'90s. Her plans to slow down her career were altered after Ry Cooder, who was in Cuba recording with the Chieftains, heard her sing in 1995. When he returned, the following year, to produce The Buena Vista Social Club, Portuondo was invited to become a featured vocalist with the all-star group. In 1998, Portuondo recorded a duo album, Desafios, with Cucho Valdes.
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A set featuring recordings from 1997-2000 when Omara Portunondo started recording with the Buena Vista Social Club. She was nominated for a Grammy in 2004. This double CD, Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears), Canciones y Boleros, is the result of an interpretive creation full of feeling, intimacy, and naturalness. She returned to the Latin American popular classics -to Violeta Parra, to Virgilio González, to Alberto Vera, to Eusebio Delfín- with a fabulous ensemble consisting of the great Rubén González and Enriqueta Almanza's piano, Richard Egües's flute, Martín Rojas's magnificent guitar, the bass of Cachaíto, Mirabal's art in unraveling the mysteries of the brass instruments, Amadito Valdés's paila with AfroCuban rhythms and the tasty percussion of Hernán Cortés, Roberto García, and Osvaldo Rodríguez.
As the last living of the original buena Vista Social Club, Omara Portuondo wears a heavy legacy. With her now 85 years, she tours the world and spread the charm of Cuba. Here are 2 CDs with older and newly recorded recordings together. Of course, this can never do justice to a career of more than 60 years, alas most of her recordings slumber in Cuban archives but is a nice start. If you want to "hear" more from the Grande Dame then you should look for the few original albums, where Omara reveals her versatility and her talent which makes her so unique. "Lagrimas" receives an absolute thumbs up recommendation as an introduction to the musical soul of Cuba. And if you have the chance to experience Omara live, you should not miss out on this one because likely you will never again!
Omara Portuondo - Lagrimas Negras 2 (flac 275mb)
01 Obertura 0:37
02 Hasta Siempre 4:54
03 Veinte Años 3:21
04 Interludio 2:52
05 Es lo Que Me Queda por Vivir 3:48
06 Lágrimas Negras 4:18
07 Y Sólo Tú y Yo 3:06
08 Allí 2:36
09 Vuela Pena 4:32
10 Me Acostumbré a Estar Sin Ti 2:17
11 Canción de un Festival 3:23
12 Gracias a La Vida 4:35
13 Porqué Dudas 2:01
14 Y Tal Vez 4:08
15 Un Ratico Más No Importa 3:38
Omara Portuondo - Lagrimas Negras 2 (ogg 117mb)
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An interesting collaboration between two great singers from Latin America: Brazil's Maria Bethania (born in 1946) and Cuba's Omara Portuondo (born in 1930). I'm more familiar with Bethania's work than with Portuondo: Bethania seems to me a bit more innovative and diverse in her career than Portuondo, who seems to belong to the more traditional bolero genre (though her style is very dignified, far from the more commercial artists in this genre). Most of the songs are a bit slow, with spare orchestration, letting this two women's great voices come to the forefront. Some songs are in Spanish, some in Portuguese and some, like the last track, the best in the album, Caipira de Fato/El Amor de Mi Bohio is actually a medley: Bethania starts with a Brazilian song and Portuondo finishes with a Cuban song: the blending of both is almost seamless. Bethania sometimes sings in Spanish (flawlessly); Portuondo sometimes also sings in Portuguese, but I can't vouch for her pronounciation. Other great songs here are the beautiful Nana para un Suspiro, Tal Vez, So Vendo que Beleza and Para Cantarle al Amor.
Omara Portuondo y Maria Bethania - Omara e Maria (flac 208mb)
01 Lacho 3:08
02 Menino Grande 3:16
03 Nana Para Un Suspiro (Semillita) 4:10
04 Poema LXIV / Palabras/ Palavras 4:01
05 Tal Vez 3:31
06 Você 4:13
07 Arrependimento 3:15
08 Mil Congojas 3:13
09 Só Vendo Que Beleza (Marambaia) 2:26
10 Para Cantarale A Mi Amor 5:48
11 Caipira De Fato/El Amor De Mi Bohío 4:25
Omara Portuondo y Maria Bethania - Omara e Maria (ogg 93mb)
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Chucho Valdes is a star in his own right, perhaps the shiniest one Cuba has right now, but not a great accompanist; therefore he can't help himself with long soliloquies and overpowering Portuondo at some points. Musically, I find Chucho too light as an accompanist; he lacks, I feel, structure. To my taste, the only irreproachable thing in this cd is the tracks. From "Llanto de luna", a beautifully poetic song by the genial Julio Gutierrez and that Portuondo does quite well, to "Recordare tu boca", written by the exquisite Tania (Zoila) Castellanos, all are songs inscribed in the "Feeling" movement, the musical renovation that gave new life to the Cuban popular song back in the second half of the 20th century.
Omara Portuondo y Chucho Valdes - Omara e Chucho (flac 231mb)
01 Noche Cubana 1:09
02 Claro de Luna / Llanto de Luna 4:45
03 Y Decidete Mi Amor 3:27
04 Alma Mia 5:55
05 Me Acostumbre A Estar Sin Ti 3:12
06 Esta Tarde Vi Llover 8:08
07 Si Te Contara 4:27
08 Huesito 3:12
09 Mis Sentimientos 5:12
10 Nuestra Cobardia 3:39
11 Babalu Ayé 5:16
12 Recordare Tu Boca 4:30
13 Noche Cubana 2:13
Omara Portuondo y Chucho Valdes - Omara e Chucho (ogg 109mb)
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This album reveals that Marialy Pacheco is a composer and arranger absolutely engaged with her musical roots and the sounds of her Cuban origins. Self-confidently Marialy Pacheco ministers to the works of renown composers as Eliseo Grenet, Moises Simons, Felipe Rosario Goyco and Antonio María Romeu. With great respect for their original identity the pianist provides them with her personal hand in a new, modern way and connected to the here and now. What is left is the pure and simple beauty of these traditional songs. With the composition of her Cuban Suite Marialy Pacheco is also bowing to the traditional Cuban dances Rumba, Danzón and Conga, dedicating a separate part of the suite to each of them. In our today’s modern language she compositionally demonstrates the deep look into these historical music structures. She finds the balance between seriousness and technical sophistication on the one hand, and lightness, exotic, and the heat of Caribbean rhythms on the other hand. Even with her further self-compositions Metro and Cambodian Smiles, she is telling very personal stories. And they also impressively testify the creative potential and her Cuban soul, which of course can be heard in these entirely modern pieces as well. To keep the authentic and traditional Latin American sound, but refreshing it at the same time, Marialy Pacheco’s trio consists of the two great Colombian musicians Juan Camilo Villa on bass and Miguel Altamar on drums.
Marialy Pacheco - Introducing (flac 344mb)
01 Ay! Mama Inés 5:25
02 En El Camino 5:58
03 El Manisero 7:06
04 Cuban Suite - Rumba 5:29
05 Cuban Suite - Danzón 10:06
06 Cuban Suite - Conga 5:46
07 Madrigal 9:36
08 Tres Lindas Cubanas 5:01
09 Metro 7:12
10 Cambodian Smiles 7:14
Marialy Pacheco - Introducing (ogg 162mb)
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Today's artist is the grand old lady of Cuban music. While her early recordings made her a star in Cuba, her participation in the 1996 album and video documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club, brought her to international attention. Her solo album, The Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, released in 2000, reinforced her status as one of Cuba's greatest musical ambassadors........N'Joy
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
Omara Portuonda
Born on 29 October 1930 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana, Portuondo had three sisters. Her mother, Esperanza Peláez, came from a wealthy Spanish family, and had created a scandal by running off with and marrying a black professional baseball player, Bartolo Portuondo. Omara joined the dance group of the Cabaret Tropicana in 1950, following her elder sister, Haydee. She also danced in the Mulatas de Fuego in the theatre Radiocentro, and in other dance groups. The two sisters also used to sing for family and friends, and they also performed in Havana clubs. Portuondo and Haydee then in 1947 joined the Loquibambia Swing, a group formed by the blind pianist Frank Emilio Flynn.
From 1952–1953 she sang for the Orquesta Anacaona, and later in 1953 both sisters joined (together with Elena Burke and Moraima Secada) the singing group Cuarteto d'Aida, formed and directed by pianist Aida Diestro. The group had considerable success, touring the United States, performing with Nat King Cole at the Tropicana, and recording a 1957 album for RCA Victor. In 1958, pianist and composer Julio Gutiérrez invited Portuondo to sing for his ensemble in a series of recordings bridging jazz and Cuban music for the record label Velvet. The result was Magia Negra, her debut solo album. Haydee left the Cuarteto d'Aida in 1961 in order to live in the US and Omara continued singing with the quartet until 1967.
1967–present
In 1967 Portuondo began to focus on her solo career recording two albums for Areito, Omara Portuondo and Esta es Omara Portuondo.[5] In the same year she represented Cuba at the Sopot Festival in Poland, singing Juanito Márquez' "Como un milagro". Alongside her solo work, in the 1970s she sang with the charanga Orquesta Aragón, and toured with them abroad.
In 1974 she recorded, with guitarist Martín Rojas, an album in which she lauds Salvador Allende and the people of Chile a year after the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet. Among other hits from the album, she sang Carlos Puebla's hit "Hasta Siempre, Comandante", which refers to Ché Guevara. She also recorded "Y que se sepa", with one of the most successful Cuban bands of the late 20th century, Los Van Van. Later on she performed with Juan Formell, singing Formell's song "Tal vez", a song she recorded later on with Maria Bethania. During the 1970s and 1980s Portuondo enjoyed success at home and abroad, with tours, albums (including one of her most lauded recordings in 1984 with Adalberto Álvarez), film roles, and her own television series.
In 2004 the International Red Cross appointed her International Ambassador, the first Cuban musician to hold this title, in Montreal, Canada. In 2007 she performed the title role to sold out audiences in Lizt Alfonso's dance musical "Vida", the story of modern Cuba through the eyes and with the memories of an old woman. In this same year, her performance at the Montreal Jazz Festival was released on DVD. She recorded in 2008 a duet album with Brazilian singer Maria Bethânia named Maria Bethânia e Omara Portuondo. In 2008 she recorded the album Gracias as a tribute to the 60th anniversary of her singing career. Today, Omara lives in a high-rise apartment just off the Malecón, Havana, overlooking the sea. She remains a popular fixture on the local music scene, singing regularly at the Tropicana Club, the Delirio Habanero and the Café Cantante.
Portuondo sang (duetting with Ibrahim Ferrer) on the album Buena Vista Social Club in 1996. This led not only to more touring (including playing at Carnegie Hall with the Buena Vista troupe) and her appearance in Wim Wenders' film Buena Vista Social Club, but to two further albums for the World Circuit label: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo (2000) and Flor de Amor (2004). She remains a member of Buena Vista Social Club, being the only original vocalist to do so. Portuondo had settled into semi-retirement by the mid-'90s. Her plans to slow down her career were altered after Ry Cooder, who was in Cuba recording with the Chieftains, heard her sing in 1995. When he returned, the following year, to produce The Buena Vista Social Club, Portuondo was invited to become a featured vocalist with the all-star group. In 1998, Portuondo recorded a duo album, Desafios, with Cucho Valdes.
xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx xxxxx
A set featuring recordings from 1997-2000 when Omara Portunondo started recording with the Buena Vista Social Club. She was nominated for a Grammy in 2004. This double CD, Lágrimas Negras (Black Tears), Canciones y Boleros, is the result of an interpretive creation full of feeling, intimacy, and naturalness. She returned to the Latin American popular classics -to Violeta Parra, to Virgilio González, to Alberto Vera, to Eusebio Delfín- with a fabulous ensemble consisting of the great Rubén González and Enriqueta Almanza's piano, Richard Egües's flute, Martín Rojas's magnificent guitar, the bass of Cachaíto, Mirabal's art in unraveling the mysteries of the brass instruments, Amadito Valdés's paila with AfroCuban rhythms and the tasty percussion of Hernán Cortés, Roberto García, and Osvaldo Rodríguez.
As the last living of the original buena Vista Social Club, Omara Portuondo wears a heavy legacy. With her now 85 years, she tours the world and spread the charm of Cuba. Here are 2 CDs with older and newly recorded recordings together. Of course, this can never do justice to a career of more than 60 years, alas most of her recordings slumber in Cuban archives but is a nice start. If you want to "hear" more from the Grande Dame then you should look for the few original albums, where Omara reveals her versatility and her talent which makes her so unique. "Lagrimas" receives an absolute thumbs up recommendation as an introduction to the musical soul of Cuba. And if you have the chance to experience Omara live, you should not miss out on this one because likely you will never again!
Omara Portuondo - Lagrimas Negras 2 (flac 275mb)
01 Obertura 0:37
02 Hasta Siempre 4:54
03 Veinte Años 3:21
04 Interludio 2:52
05 Es lo Que Me Queda por Vivir 3:48
06 Lágrimas Negras 4:18
07 Y Sólo Tú y Yo 3:06
08 Allí 2:36
09 Vuela Pena 4:32
10 Me Acostumbré a Estar Sin Ti 2:17
11 Canción de un Festival 3:23
12 Gracias a La Vida 4:35
13 Porqué Dudas 2:01
14 Y Tal Vez 4:08
15 Un Ratico Más No Importa 3:38
Omara Portuondo - Lagrimas Negras 2 (ogg 117mb)
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An interesting collaboration between two great singers from Latin America: Brazil's Maria Bethania (born in 1946) and Cuba's Omara Portuondo (born in 1930). I'm more familiar with Bethania's work than with Portuondo: Bethania seems to me a bit more innovative and diverse in her career than Portuondo, who seems to belong to the more traditional bolero genre (though her style is very dignified, far from the more commercial artists in this genre). Most of the songs are a bit slow, with spare orchestration, letting this two women's great voices come to the forefront. Some songs are in Spanish, some in Portuguese and some, like the last track, the best in the album, Caipira de Fato/El Amor de Mi Bohio is actually a medley: Bethania starts with a Brazilian song and Portuondo finishes with a Cuban song: the blending of both is almost seamless. Bethania sometimes sings in Spanish (flawlessly); Portuondo sometimes also sings in Portuguese, but I can't vouch for her pronounciation. Other great songs here are the beautiful Nana para un Suspiro, Tal Vez, So Vendo que Beleza and Para Cantarle al Amor.
Omara Portuondo y Maria Bethania - Omara e Maria (flac 208mb)
01 Lacho 3:08
02 Menino Grande 3:16
03 Nana Para Un Suspiro (Semillita) 4:10
04 Poema LXIV / Palabras/ Palavras 4:01
05 Tal Vez 3:31
06 Você 4:13
07 Arrependimento 3:15
08 Mil Congojas 3:13
09 Só Vendo Que Beleza (Marambaia) 2:26
10 Para Cantarale A Mi Amor 5:48
11 Caipira De Fato/El Amor De Mi Bohío 4:25
Omara Portuondo y Maria Bethania - Omara e Maria (ogg 93mb)
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Chucho Valdes is a star in his own right, perhaps the shiniest one Cuba has right now, but not a great accompanist; therefore he can't help himself with long soliloquies and overpowering Portuondo at some points. Musically, I find Chucho too light as an accompanist; he lacks, I feel, structure. To my taste, the only irreproachable thing in this cd is the tracks. From "Llanto de luna", a beautifully poetic song by the genial Julio Gutierrez and that Portuondo does quite well, to "Recordare tu boca", written by the exquisite Tania (Zoila) Castellanos, all are songs inscribed in the "Feeling" movement, the musical renovation that gave new life to the Cuban popular song back in the second half of the 20th century.
Omara Portuondo y Chucho Valdes - Omara e Chucho (flac 231mb)
01 Noche Cubana 1:09
02 Claro de Luna / Llanto de Luna 4:45
03 Y Decidete Mi Amor 3:27
04 Alma Mia 5:55
05 Me Acostumbre A Estar Sin Ti 3:12
06 Esta Tarde Vi Llover 8:08
07 Si Te Contara 4:27
08 Huesito 3:12
09 Mis Sentimientos 5:12
10 Nuestra Cobardia 3:39
11 Babalu Ayé 5:16
12 Recordare Tu Boca 4:30
13 Noche Cubana 2:13
Omara Portuondo y Chucho Valdes - Omara e Chucho (ogg 109mb)
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This album reveals that Marialy Pacheco is a composer and arranger absolutely engaged with her musical roots and the sounds of her Cuban origins. Self-confidently Marialy Pacheco ministers to the works of renown composers as Eliseo Grenet, Moises Simons, Felipe Rosario Goyco and Antonio María Romeu. With great respect for their original identity the pianist provides them with her personal hand in a new, modern way and connected to the here and now. What is left is the pure and simple beauty of these traditional songs. With the composition of her Cuban Suite Marialy Pacheco is also bowing to the traditional Cuban dances Rumba, Danzón and Conga, dedicating a separate part of the suite to each of them. In our today’s modern language she compositionally demonstrates the deep look into these historical music structures. She finds the balance between seriousness and technical sophistication on the one hand, and lightness, exotic, and the heat of Caribbean rhythms on the other hand. Even with her further self-compositions Metro and Cambodian Smiles, she is telling very personal stories. And they also impressively testify the creative potential and her Cuban soul, which of course can be heard in these entirely modern pieces as well. To keep the authentic and traditional Latin American sound, but refreshing it at the same time, Marialy Pacheco’s trio consists of the two great Colombian musicians Juan Camilo Villa on bass and Miguel Altamar on drums.
Marialy Pacheco - Introducing (flac 344mb)
01 Ay! Mama Inés 5:25
02 En El Camino 5:58
03 El Manisero 7:06
04 Cuban Suite - Rumba 5:29
05 Cuban Suite - Danzón 10:06
06 Cuban Suite - Conga 5:46
07 Madrigal 9:36
08 Tres Lindas Cubanas 5:01
09 Metro 7:12
10 Cambodian Smiles 7:14
Marialy Pacheco - Introducing (ogg 162mb)
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