Cuban singer Omara Portuondo will be one of the artists that will appear at New York’s Carnegie Hall on November 11 as a guest star at the debut of The Sound of The Drum, starring African artist Angelique Kidjo in the Parelman Stage Auditorium. Among the guests stars invited to this sold out event are Senegalese singer Yousson N’Dour and jazz singer Dianne Reeves, offering a tribute to African musical roots in the Americas.
Omara Portuondo is currently touring the top cities in the US. With this second leg of the tour that began in October, the Buena Vista Social Club vocalist performed in Austin, Houston, New Orleans, San Francisco, Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill (North Carolina), the Linsner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. and at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Cuban music icon has had an intense year after her nomination for a Grammy in the Tropical album of the year category for her album “ Gracias” (world Village), a collection of traditional melodies, jazz and boleros, that have been key along her 60 year career.
In 2009, her recording received a Latin Grammy Award. In addition, Omara got her United States visa after a six year absence. She was again able to please her fans in the U.S. (at the Palace of Fine arts in San Francisco, during the 2009 Jazz Festival in that city and at the UCLA campus in Los Angeles), turning into a symbol of the new policy of the opening relations between the United States and Cuba. It should be added that she was the first Cuban artist, resident in the island, to appear at the Latin Grammy’s stage to present an award.
Buy the Omara Portuondo CDs:
- In North America: Gracias. Other releases available: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, Lagrimas Negras Canciones y Boleros, Flor de Amor, Duets, Maria Bethania & Omara Portuondo, Palabras, Desafios
- In Europe: Gracias. Other releases available: Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, Omara Portuondo and Maria Bethania
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
Wow, What an honor and blessing to see and hear her. Thank you.
Sensacional es Omara Portuondo, una de las mejores cantantes femeninas de Latinomérica. El bolero en su voz es soberbio!