Albita Rodríguez (born 6 June 1962 in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. known in her music career simply as Albita, is a Cuban singer.

Biography

Albita was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Minerva Herrera were well-known Cuban folk music singers (who performed as Martín y Minerva or better known as Mima y Pipo), which ensured Albita's exposure to the world of Cuban country music from her early years. Working professionally since her teen years, by the late eighties she had attained recognition among national interpreters of Cuban folk music (''Música Guajira)''. In 1988, her first album, ''Habrá Música Guajira'' (''There Will Be Guajira Music''), was released. In 1990, work commitments took her to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, and from there she defected to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 15 April 1993, making the southern city of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

her place of permanent residence. Once in

, where she noted in a 2019 interview that she was "practically unknown", Albita eventually got the attention of celebrities like

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up ...

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Gardenzio "Sly" Stallone (; born July 6, 1946) is an American actor and filmmaker. In a Sylvester Stallone filmography, film career spanning more than fifty years, Stallone has received List of awards and nominations received by Syl ...

Paco de Lucia Paco is a Spanish nickname for Francisco. According to folk etymology, the nickname has its origins in Saint Francis of Assisi, who was the father of the Franciscan order; his name was written in Latin by the order as (father of the community); ...

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962) is an American actor and film producer. Regarded as a Cinema of the United States, Hollywood icon, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Tom Cruise, various accolades, includ ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

, among others that soon became her fans. In 1994 she was signed by

Emilio Estefan Emilio Estefan Gómez (born March 4, 1953) is a Cuban-American musician and producer. Estefan has won 19 Grammy Awards. He first came to prominence as a member of the Miami Sound Machine. He is the husband of singer Gloria Estefan, father of s ...

's Crescent Moon label and her first single in the U.S., "Qué Manera de Quererte" ("What a Way of Loving You"), was released. In 1995, her album ''No Se Parece a Nada'' (''Like Nothing Else'') saw daylight. Her career in the U.S. has produced success, including multiple

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and

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nominations and wins. She travels extensively, performing in such places as Australia, all Europe, Malaysia, Africa and of course all of Latin America. She has shared the stage with

Celia Cruz Celia Caridad Cruz Alfonso (21 October 1925 – 16 July 2003), known as Celia Cruz, was a Cuban singer and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century. Cruz rose to fame in Cuba during the 1950s as a singer of , earning the nickna ...

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and

Melissa Etheridge Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and guitarist. Her Melissa Etheridge (album), eponymous debut album was released in 1988 and became an underground success. It peaked at No. 22 on the Billbo ...

. She has been invited to perform for four Presidential functions, including two inaugurations. In 2004 she founded her own label "Angel's Dawn Records" under which she produced and launched her CD ''Albita Llegó'' that won her two Grammys in the category of Best Contemporary Tropical Album. Her music has also been featured in the soundtrack of several American and foreign films. In 2005, Albita was cast for a major role in the Broadway produced musical play ''

The Mambo Kings ''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical film, musical Drama (film and television), drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was direc ...

'', where she worked for six months to rave reviews. Albita also hosts her own show ''La Descarga con Albita'' (''Jam Session with Albita''). In May 2016 she performed in the musical ''Carmen la Cubana'', which reimagines

Oscar Hammerstein II Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II (; July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Award ...

's ''

Carmen Jones ''Carmen Jones'' is a 1943 Broadway musical with music by Georges Bizet (orchestrated for Broadway by Robert Russell Bennett) and lyrics and book by Oscar Hammerstein II which was performed at The Broadway Theatre. Conceptually, it is Bizet's ...

''—itself based on Georges Bizet's 1875 opera—during

the Cuban revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

. Directed by

Christopher Renshaw Christopher Renshaw (born 18 March 1952 in Reading) is a British opera and theatre director. He has directed in multiple countries, including musical theatre in London's West End. Biography In 2001, Renshaw directed ''Taboo'', a musical with th ...

, ''Carmen la Cubana'' played at the

Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...

in Paris and later at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London. In October 2019, she staged two major free concerts in

Hialeah Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in Miami-Dade County in the Miami met ...

and

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, as part of those cities' celebrations of National Hispanic Pride month.

Discography

* ''Habrá Música Guajira'' (''There Will Be Guajira Music'') (1988) * ''Cantare'' (1992) * ''Si se da la siembra'' (1991) * ''No Se Parece a Nada'' (''Unlike Anything Else'') (1995) * ''Dicen Que'' (''They Say That'') (1996) * '' Una Mujer Como Yo'' (''A Woman Like Me'') (1997) * ''Son'' (''

Son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

'') (2000) * ''Hecho a Mano'' (''Handmade'') (2002) * ''Albita Llegó'' (''Albita Is Here'') (2004) * ''Albita Live'' (2006) * ''Mis Tacones'' (2009) * ''Albita'' (2017)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Albita 1962 births Living people Cuban women singers American women singers Latin Grammy Award winners Singers from Miami Latin music songwriters Emmy Award winners Cuban-American culture in Miami Cuban exiles Women in Latin music 21st-century American women

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links