Elena Burke (born Romana Elena Burgues Gonzalez on February 28, 1928, in

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 Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbe ...

– 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 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 G ...

and Haydée Portuondo. After she got some attention, she went solo. By the time of the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...

she was a top solo artist performing in elegant cabarets in Havana. Her voice seemed to become stronger with age, as her subtle yet sophisticated technique graced every song she sang with an emotional weight. Over the years she performed with top Cuban dance bands such as

Orquesta Aragón Orquesta Aragón is a Cuban musical band formed on 30 September 1939, by Orestes Aragón Cantero in Cienfuegos, Cuba. The band originally had the name ''Ritmica 39'', then ''Ritmica Aragón'' before settling on its final form. Though they did not ...

, and with highly acclaimed singer-songwriters, including Pablo Milanés. She certainly could "take a sad song and make it better", piercing the emotional veil of her audience with an almost palpable sincerity, winning the moniker "Señora Sentimiento" (Lady Feeling). In 1978 she performed with the Orquesta Aragón at New York's

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

to great acclaim. Though she mostly interpreted classic Cuban boleros and Son, her versions were distinct, supported by top-notch musicians and arrangements. She is the mother of

Malena Burke Malena Burke (born September 15, 1958 in Havana, Cuba) is a well-known Cuban singer now living in Miami. She began her musical studies at various art schools when she was only 8 years old and graduated from the Amadeo Roldan Conservatory with d ...

and grandmother of

Lena Lena or LENA may refer to: Places * Léna Department, a department of Houet Province in Burkina Faso * Lena, Manitoba, an unincorporated community located in Killarney-Turtle Mountain municipality in Manitoba, Canada * Lena, Norway, a village in ...

, also well known Cuban singers.

References

External links

*
TV Documentary on Elena Burke
1928 births 2002 deaths People from Havana Bolero singers 20th-century Cuban women singers Cuban people of African descent Afro-Cuban culture Women in Latin music {{Cuba-singer-stub