Noel Nicola was born in Havana in 1946. The singer and composer was born is a family of musicians. His father, Issac, was a well known guitarist and his mother a violinist.
Nicola learned how to play the guitar by himself. He composed his first songs at 13. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Nueva Trova Cubana since 1968.
In 1969, Nicola joined the Grupo de Experimentación Sonora [Sound Experimentation Group] of the Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC). There, he expanded his musical education by attending workshops by Cuban masters Leo Brouwer, Juan Elósegui and Federico Smith. He became the first president of the now extinct Movimiento de la Nueva Trova (1972 – 1977).
Nicola’s body of work includes 350 songs, movie and TV soundtracks, theater scores, and orchestrations. His better known songs are “Por la vida juntos,” “Para una imaginaria Maria del Carmen,” “Comienzo el dia,” “Son oscuro” and “Es más, te perdono.”
He died of cancer on August 7, 2005.
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.
