Omara Portuondo

The emotionally stirring Cuban singer Omara Portuondo enjoyed a diverse and successful career long before she became Buena Vista Social Club’s sole female member. Born in Havana in 1930, Portuondo followed in her older sister Haydee’s footsteps and began dancing at the Tropicana in 1950. The singing sisters joined the close-harmony group Cuarteto D’Aida in 1953, eventually taking their jazzy canción-trova-bolero sound on the road with Nat “King” Cole. Portuondo sang a similar hybrid on her 1959 solo debut, Magia Negra. Echoes of Sarah Vaughan can be heard on both of Portuondo’s 1967 albums, Omara Portuondo and Esta es Omara Portuondo, while her fidelity to the Cuban revolutionary cause is reflected in “Hasta Siempre, Comandante,” a 1974 duet with guitarist Martín Rojas praising Che Guevara. Portuondo’s increasing mastery of Cuba’s son and bolero forms also led to film roles and a TV series. In 1996, her incandescent first-take duet with Ibrahim Ferrer of “Veinte Años” on Buena Vista Social Club’s debut album launched a remarkable second act to her career that included solo releases, collaborations, and live appearances into the 2020s.