Omara Portuondo (Cuba)
- Jun 29
- 1 min read
Omara Portuondo, born in Havana in 1930, is one of the most celebrated voices in Cuban music. Before achieving worldwide fame, she was a member of the legendary vocal group Cuarteto d’Aida and established herself as one of Cuba’s most respected singers across bolero, son, filin, and jazz. International recognition came in 1996 when she joined the Buena Vista Social Club project, becoming the ensemble’s leading female voice and appearing in Wim Wenders’s acclaimed 1999 documentary. She has received multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations, winning the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.
Featured Song:
“Me Toca” (It’s My Turn) appears on Vida (2023), which won the Latin Grammy for Best Traditional Tropical Album. The song pairs Portuondo with Carlos Rivera, a celebrated Mexican pop singer with roots in Puebla who has recorded widely across Latin America and collaborated with artists ranging from Celia Cruz to Natalia Lafourcade. Together they explore themes of personal reckoning and the quiet determination to love on one’s own terms. “It’s my turn / To speak slowly and softly with you / It’s my turn / To say what I want to say / We only have one life / Something that in truth is not hard to understand.”
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