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Omara Portuondo
Omara Portuondo Peláez (born 29 October 1930) is a Cuban singer and dancer. A founding member of the popular vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida, Portuondo has collaborated with many important Cuban musicians during her long career, including Julio Gutiérrez, Juanito Márquez and Chucho Valdés. Although primarily known for her rendition of boleros, she has recorded in a wide range of styles from jazz to son cubano. Since 1996, she has been part of the Buena Vista Social Club project, touring extensively and recording several albums with the ensemble. She won a Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Tropical Album in 2009 and a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and she received three Grammy Award nominations. Early life and career Born on 29 October 1930 in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana, Portuondo had three sisters. Her mother, Esperanza Peláez, came from a wealthy family of Spanish ancestry, and had created a scandal by running off with and marrying a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba ''''. . The city has a population of 2.3million inhabitants, and it spans a total of – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Son Cubano
Son cubano is a genre of music and dance that originated in the highlands of eastern Cuba during the late 19th century. It is a syncretic genre that blends elements of Spanish and African origin. Among its fundamental Hispanic components are the vocal style, lyrical metre and the primacy of the tres, derived from the Spanish guitar. On the other hand, its characteristic clave rhythm, call and response structure and percussion section ( bongo, maracas, etc.) are all rooted in traditions of Bantu origin. Around 1909 the son reached Havana, where the first recordings were made in 1917. This marked the start of its expansion throughout the island, becoming Cuba's most popular and influential genre. While early groups had between three and five members, during the 1920s the ''sexteto'' (sextet) became the genre's primary format. By the 1930s, many bands had incorporated a trumpet, becoming ''septetos'', and in the 1940s a larger type of ensemble featuring congas and piano became th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued for the remainder of his life. He found great popular success and recorded over 100 songs that became hits on the pop charts. His trio was the model for small jazz ensembles that followed. Cole also acted in films and on television and performed on Broadway. He was the first African-American man to host an American television series. He was the father of singer Natalie Cole (1950–2015). Biography Early life Nathaniel Adams Coles was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 17, 1919. He had three brothers: Eddie (1910–1970), Ike (1927–2001), and Freddy (1931–2020), and a half-sister, Joyce Coles. Each of the Coles brothers pursued careers in music. When Nat King Cole was four years old, the family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aida Diestro
Adelaida Diestro Rega (21 December 1924 – 28 October 1973), better known as Aida Diestro, was a Cuban pianist and the director of the famous vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida. Career Diestro was born in Havana on 21 December 1924. She studied music with her father, the Presbyterian minister Vicente Diestro Camejo, and continued in a private conservatory. She became the choir director of her father's church, which taught her a great deal about harmony which came in useful later. Aida learnt more from the musician and composer , and his guidance played a decisive role in her future career. Years later she said: "Mantici gave me the confidence to confront the prejudices which female artistes encountered in those days." Diestro's first professional engagements was as a pianist on the radio, accompanying artists such as César Portillo de la Luz and Tania Castellanos. Her big moment came when, in 1952, she formed the Cuarteto d'Aida, which became one of the most famous groups of its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moraima Secada
Moraima Secada (born María Micaela Secada Ramos (10 September 1930 – 30 December 1984), known to her admirers as ''La Mora'' (the moor), was a temperamental singer who created a special style of interpretation within the Cuban music genre of filin (feeling). She started her career in the 1950s and was a member of the first female orchestra of America Anacaona, which made many international tours. She was also in the vocal groups Cuarteto Los Meme and Cuarteto D'Aida.Martínez Rodríguez, Raul 1989.''Moraima Secada: 1930–1984''. La Habana. She died of liver disease in Havana. She was the aunt of the singer Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fus .... References El Varez article * Spanish Wikipedia article on Moriama Secada La Jiribilla articleSo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elena Burke
Elena Burke (born Romana Elena Burgues Gonzalez on February 28, 1928, in Havana, Cuba – June 9, 2002 in Havana, Cuba) was a revered and popular Cuban singer of boleros and romantic ballads. Biography She started her career by working in radio in the 1940s but also began to work with smaller groups and appearing in nightclubs accompanied at the piano by Dámaso Pérez Prado. In 1948 she accompanied the Cuban dancers known as "Las Mulatas the Fuego" (The Mulatas of Fire) to Mexico City, where she performed in the movie ''Salón México'', directed by Indio Fernández. In 1952, pianist and arranger Aida Diestro organized the vocal quartet called Cuarteto d'Aida. The original members were Elena Burke, Moraima Secada, Omara Portuondo and Haydée Portuondo. After she got some attention, she went solo. By the time of the Cuban Revolution she was a top solo artist performing in elegant cabarets in Havana. Her voice seemed to become stronger with age, as her subtle yet sophisti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anacaona (all-girl Band)
Anacaona is the name of an all-female orchestra, founded in Havana in the early 1930s by Concepción "Cuchito" Castro Zaldarriaga and her sisters. Eventually, all 11 sisters joined the band. The band was formed during the Machado era when the political situation led to university closings, forcing Cuchito Castro to abandon her studies and her plan to start a dental practice. Instead, she chose a different career in 1932 by proposing a female septet to challenge the male-dominated son music. At the time, it was believed women were not capable of playing son. The band enjoyed close musical ties with well-known Cuban performers, in particular with Ignacio Piñeiro and Lázaro Herrera of the Septeto Nacional. Graciela, whose brother Machito laid the foundations of Latin Jazz, was Anacaona's lead singer for a decade. History Cuchito's sisters and friends came together as a group, naming it after the Taino queen Anacaona. The septet made its first official appearance in February 1932, at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Emilio Flynn
Francisco Emilio Flynn Rodríguez (April 13, 1921 – August 23, 2001), better known as Frank Emilio Flynn, was a renowned Cuban pianist. Despite being blind, he was a skilled and versatile pianist who mastered many forms of Cuban music, from danzas and danzones to filin, descarga and Afro-Cuban jazz. He was the founder and director of several ensembles, including Loquibambia (1946) and Los Modernistas (1951), both co-founded with José Antonio Méndez, as well as the Quinteto Instrumental de Música Moderna (1958), which later became Los Amigos. Biography Early life and career Francisco Emilio Flynn Rodríguez was born in Havana on April 13, 1921, to a Cuban mother and an American father. His eyes were damaged during birth by the doctor's forceps. As a result, he was unable to distinguish shapes as a child, and by his late teens he was totally blind. From a young age he was known as Frank Emilio instead of Francisco Emilio due to his father. His mother died when he was 5 year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tropicana Club
El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, six-acre (24,000 m²) estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belen, presently, the Instituto Técnico Militar. History The Tropicana evolved out of a nightclub called Edén Concert, operated in the late 1930s by the late Cuban impresario Victor de Correa. The club was a combination casino and cabaret located on a rented property in Marianao from Guillermina Pérez Chaumont, known as Mina. The tropical gardens of the Villa Mina provided a natural setting for an outdoor cabaret. In December 1939, de Correa moved his company of singers, dancers and musicians into a converted mansion located on the estate. De Correa provided the food and entertainment, while Rafael Mascaro and Luis Bular operated the casino located in the chandeliered dining room of the estate's mansion. Originally known as El Beau-Site, de Correa decided to rename it The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bartolo Portuondo
Bartolome "Bartolo" Portuondo (August 24, 1893 – May 26, 1981) was a Cuban baseball infielder in the Cuban League and the U.S. Negro leagues. In Cuba he played from 1911/12 to 1926/27 with several teams, most notably Almendares. His American career lasted from 1915 to 1927; he played for the Cuban Stars (East), Cuban Stars (West), and the Kansas City Monarchs, among other teams. Portuondo's wife was a member of a wealthy white Cuban family. Their daughter Omara Portuondo Omara Portuondo Peláez (born 29 October 1930) is a Cuban singer and dancer. A founding member of the popular vocal group Cuarteto d'Aida, Portuondo has collaborated with many important Cuban musicians during her long career, including Julio Gu ... became an internationally known singer. References External links anBaseball-Reference Black Baseball statsanSeamheads [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cayo Hueso, Havana
Cayo Hueso is a ''consejo popular'' (ward) in the municipality of Centro Habana, Havana, Cuba. A traditionally working-class neighborhood populated by Afro-Cubans, it is known for its many cultural landmarks such as the ''Callejón de Hamel'', the Fragua Martiana Museum and the ''Parque de los Mártires Universitarios''. Although Cayo Hueso today is considered part of Centro Havana, originally it formed part of Barrio San Lázaro, an area bounded by Calle Infanta to the west, Calle Zanja to the south, Calle Belascoáin to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the north. Cayo Hueso was declared a ''barrio'' on 26 July 1912, and made part of Centro Habana upon its establishment in 1963. History The earliest settlement in the current area of Cayo Hueso dates back to the second half of the 16th century, following the burning of Havana by French pirate Jacques de Sores. It wasn't until 1912 that the area was officially recognized as the neighbourhood of Cayo Hueso. Its name, which means ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
