Margarita Lecuona (1910–1981) was a Cuban singer and composer who is remembered for composing

Afro The afro is a hair type created by natural growth of kinky hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair.Garland, Phyl"Is The Afro On Its Way Out?" ''Ebony'', February 1973. ...

songs such as "

Babalú "Babalú" is a Cuban popular afro song written by Margarita Lecuona, the cousin of composers Ernestina and Ernesto Lecuona. The song title is a reference to the Santería deity Babalú Ayé. Lyrics In the song's lyrics, originally written in Span ...

" and "Tabú".

Biography

Born 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.

on 18 April 1910, Lecuona was the daughter of Eugenio Lecuona, the Cuban consul in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. She attended the Colegio Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and the Colegio Sepúlveda in Havana before embarking on her secondary education at the Instituto de La Habana which she left after her first two years. She studied singing under Julia Lucignani and the piano under Eulalia Santana before attending the Escuela de Guitarra de Pro-Arte Musical to study the guitar under Clara Romero de Nicola. She studied dance at the Escuela de Ballet under the ballet master

Nikolai Yavorsky Nikolai Petrovich Yavorsky (Russian: Никола́й Петро́вич Яво́рский; 23 February 1891, Odessa - 9 October 1947, Santiago de Cuba) was a Cuban choreographer and Ballet, ballet teacher of Russian origin. Biography Nikola ...

, performing in a number of his works. In 1930, while still studying, she wrote "Soñadora" which she sang playing the guitar. After performing in a number of stage productions, in 1942, she first created a duo with Olga Luque and then a group called the Lecuona Cuban Girls, performing on stage and on the radio. Among her many compositions in the early 1940s were "Tabú" and "Babalú". "Tabú" gained popularity when sung by

Arthur Lyman Arthur Lyman (February 2, 1932 – February 24, 2002) was an Hawaiian jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His group popularized a style of faux-Polynesian music during the 1950s and 1960s which later became known as exotica. His albums became ...

and

Les Baxter Leslie Thompson "Les" Baxter (March 14, 1922 – January 15, 1996) was a best-selling American musician and composer. After working as an arranger and composer for swing bands, he developed his own style of easy listening music, known as exotica ...

while "Babalú" proved successful with the singer

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

. She went on to marry the Argentine actor Pepe Armil in 1947 and moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

where she settled in 1957. From there she travelled to Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru, Brazil and Mexico, performing on radio as well as on the stage. In 1969, she joined her family in the United States. She died in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in 1981.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lecuona, Margarita 1910 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Cuban women singers Cuban women composers Musicians from Havana Cuban expatriates in the United States 20th-century composers 20th-century women composers