Omara Portuondo

Omara Portuondo is the grand dame of Cuban music. While her early recordings made her a star in Cuba, her participation in the 1996 album and video documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club, brought her to international attention. Her solo album, The Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, released in 2000, reinforced her status as one of Cuba’s greatest musical ambassadors.

Omara started her professional career at the Cabaret Tropicana in Havana in 1930, and began her international career backing Nat King Cole in the 1950’s. From 1950 through the late 1960s, she was Cuba’s top performer of songs in the filin style. At the height of her popularity, Portuondo sang with a number of different groups across Cuba.

In 1997, at the age of 67, Omara became The Diva of Buena Vista Social Club. Omara won her first Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Tropical Album along with a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009.