Luz Ercilia Fabery Zenón (January 25, 1931 – May 13, 2015), known as Lucy Fabery, was a Puerto Rican singer who specialized in the style of

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

known as filin. She recorded four albums and numerous singles in a career that spanned over 50 years.

Life and career

Fabery was born in

Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

in 1931 to Don Rafael Fabery and Petra Zenón. In 1952, Fabery began singing at the cabaret

El Morocco El Morocco (sometimes nicknamed Elmo or Elmer) was a 20th-century Manhattan nightclub frequented by the rich and famous from the 1930s until the decline of café society in the late 1950s. It was famous for its blue zebra-stripe motif (designed ...

in New York City. Due to her physique, Fabery was known as "''La Muñeca de Chocolate''" (The Chocolate Doll). The fact that she performed solely in Spanish made her a rare and unique fixture in American jazz clubs. Additionally, she was famous for having a "hoarse voice" and for her use of sensuality onstage. She met

Miguelito Valdés Miguelito Valdés (September 6, 1912 – November 9, 1978), also known as Mr. Babalú, was a renowned Cuban singer. His performances were characterized by a strong voice and a particular sense of ''cubanismo''. Life Miguelito Valdés was born ...

and traveled with him to New York and Havana. Throughout the 1950s, Fabery toured México, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. In the mid 1950s, Fabery recorded one album with Cuban keyboardist and conductor Julio Gutiérrez in Havana. It was released by

Panart Panart was one of the first and most successful independent record labels in Cuba, founded in 1944 by engineer Ramón Sabat. In 1961, its studios were seized by Fidel Castro's communist regime and the label was nationalized, becoming "Panart Nacio ...

as a 10" LP, ''Tentación''. In 1956, she recorded four singles for

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. She later recorded with Aníbal Herrero's orchestra for Ansonia Records in the early 1960s. Seeco Records signed her in 1962. In April 1962, she recorded her sole album for the label, ''Noche de locura'', which contained twelve boleros by composers such as

Puchi Balseiro Puchi Balseiro (born Aurea Mercedes Balseiro; November 1, 1926 in Santurce, Puerto Rico – January 11, 2007) was a composer in the filin ("feeling") music genre. Early years Puchi Balseiro was born in a district of San Juan called Santur ...

and

René Touzet René Touzet y Monte (September 8, 1916 in Havana, Cuba – June 15, 2003 in Miami, Florida) was a Cuban-born American composer, pianist and bandleader. Career as bandleader Living in the city of Cojimar, he learned classical piano from the ag ...

. She later worked as an actress and in 1987 recorded an eponymous album featuring

Latin jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave, and Afro-Brazilian jazz, whic ...

musicians such as

Jerry González Jerry González (June 5, 1949 – October 1, 2018) was an American bandleader, trumpeter The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the hig ...

, Andy González and

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

. In 2006, she released her last album, ''Divinamente, Lucy Fabery'', featuring

Humberto Ramírez Humberto is a Portuguese and Spanish masculine given name of Germanic origin. It may refer to: *Humberto Aguilar Coronado *Humberto Ak'ab'al *Humberto Albiñana * Humberto Albornoz *Humberto Alonso Morelli * Humberto Alonso Razo * Humberto Andrade ...

. Fabery died on May 13, 2015, aged 84, of natural causes at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. She was buried at Cementerio Historico Municipal Barrio La Pratt in Humacao, Puerto Rico as her wish to be buried at her hometown.

References

External links

Prpop.org

Cdbaby.com

1931 births 2015 deaths People from Humacao, Puerto Rico Bolero singers Big band singers 20th-century Puerto Rican women singers Puerto Rican television actresses RCA Victor artists {{PuertoRico-bio-stub