Alba Mirna Rodríguez Herrera , better known as Albita, was born in Havana, Cuba. Albita began her professional career at fifteen in her native Cuba. Since the beginning her goal was to renew the traditional forms of Cuban music, like son cubano and Cuban rural music known as musica guajira. With this concept, she started composing and singing her original songs, developing her own style.
Her first album Habrá Música Guajira (1988) shows 10 songs of her own and in all of them it is obvious the research and fusion that would characterize her future works. The single “Parranda, Laúd y Son” was number one on the top ten of many Latin Countries and was recorded by other singers and bands.
In 1991, she went to Colombia under contract for a local record label. In the albums Si se da la Siembra and Cantaré from those days, she included both Cuban standards and her originals.
Moving forward, in April 1993 she defected to the United States, settling in Miami. Very soon the media and famous names began attending her shows at a venue in Little Havana – Quincy Jones, Madonna, Angelica Huston, Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O’Donnell, Liza Minelli and the late Gianni Versace – among many others.
Emilio and Gloria Estefan also became fans and signed her to their label, Crescent Moon. In 1995, her first US album was released, No se parece a Nada. The album quickly sold over 100,000 copies and Albita toured in the U.S.A., Spain, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico among many other countries. She also performed at the North Sea Jazz Festival in Holland and shared billings with Brazilian Gilberto Gil and salsa icon Oscar D’León.
The critics praised No se parece a Nada and the fierce live shows of the singer. The album was nominated to “Lo Nuestro” award of Latin Music. In September 1996 her second album for Crescent Moon came out, Dicen Que… produced by Albita and Emilio Estefan Jr. In this record she featured mainly her originals in a variety of Cuban Music styles. Most of the album was recorded live in studio in one take, with no sophisticated sequencing or technology.
At the 39th edition of the Grammy Awards, Dicen Que… was nominated as best album of tropical music and got the Billboard award as Tropical Album of the Year. Albita performed at the opening ball of the United States President Bill Clinton, at the Herencia Hispana Awards, and at sold out concerts through the United States. Magazines like Vogue and TV top shows featured Albita. 1997 was the year of “Una Mujer Como Yo.”
About this album, Albita said: “This record is full of new and exciting motivations for me. For the first time I included only festive songs that create a party atmosphere. I opened myself also for the first time to different music styles I have always been enthusiastic about: Colombian Vallenato, Bomba from Puerto Rico, the rhythmical and tasty Merengue from Santo Domingo and Cuban Music. All are mixed here. Counting with the collaboration of Pappo Lucca, Kike Santander, Roberto Blades and Emilio Estefan was a pleasant experience.”
Albita is a supporter of charitable causes as AMFAR – to find a cure for AIDS- and the American Cancer Society, and offered several benefit concerts for them in 1997. That same year, she was selected the best female singer in Peru with the song “Chico Cheveré. “
Her music has been included in the soundtrack of films such as “Mascaro” from Venezuela, “Café con Leche” (filmed in Miami) and “The Specialist” and “Dance with Me,” both produced in Hollywood.
Albita received the Latin Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024.
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 (Crescent Moon, 1995)
Dicen Que – They Say That (Crescent Moon, 1996)
Una Mujer Como Yo – A Woman Like Me (1997)
Son (2000)
Hecho a Mano – Handmade (2002)
Albita Llegó – Albita Is Here (2004)
Albita Live (2006)
Mis Tacones (2009)
Albita (2017)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.