Orlando Contreras

Orlando Contreras was a renowned Cuban bolero singer. Contreras began his career in the early 1950s, singing in nightclubs and casinos with groups such as the Arty Valdés Trio and the Neno González Orchestra, and later as a solo artist. In the early '70s he settled in Medellín, Colombia, where he became a mainstay of the bolero circuit, toured Latin America and Spain, and established a close association with Daniel Santos, another bohemian icon of the romantic Latin tradition. Hailed as "The Romantic Voice of Cuba," Contreras was particularly famous as an interpreter of the most spiteful, heart-wrenching selections of the bolero repertoire. Contreras passed away in 1994 in Medellín at the age of 63.