Photo Credit: Johann Sauty
It’s been more than two decades since American guitarist Ry Cooder and Cuban bandleader Juan de Marcos González assembled a host of aging Cuban musicians in Havana to record The Buena Vista Social Club. The album, and the subsequent film of the same name, took the U.S. by storm, launching a renewed appreciation for Cuban and Latin music.
Over time, that appreciation for son cubano, a blend of Spanish guitar with percussion and clave rhythms that originated with Africa’s Bantu people, has continued to grow. So has notoriety for the group and its various musicians, including vocalist and three-time Grammy Award nominee Omara Portuondo.
The Cuban chanteuse will bring her Ultimo Beso (Last Kiss) worldwide tour to the Pabst Theater on May 2. It will be the last time Portuondo will perform in the United States.
A founding member of the Cuban female singing group Cuarteto d’Aida, Portuondo and the group toured the U.S. in the 1950s, performed with Nat King Cole and in 1957 recorded for RCA Victor. In 2004, the International Red Cross appointed her an International Ambassador, the first Cuban musician accorded the honor. In 2007, she performed the title role in the sold-out Montreal production of Lizt Alfonso’s dance musical Vida, the story of modern Cuba seen through the eyes and memories of an old woman.
Portuondo, a lifelong Havana native who turns 89 on Oct. 29, has weathered a variety of political administrations in Cuba. Sitting in a rocking chair on her son’s porch, she declined to discuss politics during a recent interview. Instead, she spent time talking about music and her love for her homeland.
You and your older sister Haydee started out as dancers before turning to singing. What attracted you to music in the first place?
Our parents used to sing and play music all the time at home when we were growing up. It’s safe to say that music is my life.
Musicians often have their own muses and other performers who have inspired them. Who are your muses?
The list is quite wide, actually, and ranges from artists I have had the chance to perform with and composers whom I admire. The list ranges from Ibrahim Ferrer and Nat King Cole to Chucho Valdés, Natalia Lafourcade, Roberto Fonseca and many others.
A few years ago, I interviewed your former colleague Juan de Marcos González and asked him to describe Cuban jazz. He quickly corrected me to say there was no such thing. Can you clarify?
Cuba has a very deep musical heritage, with roots and influences from African music, Spanish guitar melodies and danzón, as well as Latin American sounds. We have great music schools and great young musicians who can perform everything from classic to modern sounds. You could say that music is part of our DNA.
That music came alive again in the U.S. thanks to the Buena Vista Social Club. How has that success affected Cuba’s music community?
The success of that album, film and he subsequent tours we took of the U.S. was something unexpected and helped everyone get to know traditional Cuban music. Not just the son cubano rhythm, but also other styles such as cha-cha-chá, guajira, danzón and bolero suddenly became popular all over the world!
I love to interpret the different styles, such as trova Cubana, and I am so happy and satisfied that people have come to know this kind of music.
Is your “Last Kiss” tour the last time you will perform?
“Last kiss” is my last worldwide tour, but actually I’d like to keep singing and collaborating with other artists and on my own projects. As I said, music is my life.
More and more U.S. tourists are traveling to Cuba. What would you recommend to first time travelers, and what is Cuba’s best-kept secret?
Oh, I see. That’s a tricky question because secrets are secrets and we can’t tell them [laughs]. Actually, my tip is to enjoy Cuba just as it is. Smile and talk to the locals, listen and dance to the different styles of music that you will find at every corner. Enjoy and discover, because Cuba is unique!
Omara Portuondo plays the Pabst Theater Thursday, May 2, at 8 p.m.
