Omara Portuondo Peláez is one of the most important Cuban feeling singers of all time. She was born in Havana, Cuba, on October 29, 1930.
Her mother came from a Cuban family of Spanish descent, and it was expected that she would marry into other families in society. However, she eloped with the man she loved, a baseball player from the national team. The couple had three daughters, and like in any Cuban household, there was music; they didn't have much money, but they had their parents' voices singing in the kitchen as they went about their daily lives. Omara, who was born in the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Havana, fondly remembers her childhood songs, with "La bayamesa" by Ernesto Grenet and Sindo Garay (also sung by Compay Segundo in Buena Vista Social Club) among her favorites. These became her first informal singing lessons and were woven into the fabric of her lifelong repertoire.
When her sister Haydée became a dancer at the famous cabaret Tropicana, Omara soon followed, by chance: the dance company faced a reduction one day in 1945 when a dancer dropped out just two days before an important premiere. Omara had watched her sister rehearse so often that she knew all the steps, so they asked her to fill the vacant spot. “It was a very chic cabaret, but I said it was unacceptable,” Omara recalls. “I was very shy and felt embarrassed to show my legs.” However, her mother convinced her by saying she couldn’t let them down; thus began her career as a dancer, forming a famous partnership with the dancer Rolando Espinosa.
On weekends, Omara and Haydée sang jazz standards with some friends: César Portillo de la Luz, José Antonio Méndez, and the pianist Frank Emilio Flynn. They called themselves Loquibambla Swing, and the style they played, a Cubanized version of bossa nova infused with jazz influences, became known as “feeling” or, in Spanish, “filin.” During her radio debut, Omara was introduced as Omara Brown, the girlfriend of filin. That stage name was soon forgotten, but the definition that came with it remains.
In 1950, she became a member of the Anacaona Orchestra, and by 1952, Omara and her sister Haydée Portuondo were part of a female vocal quartet alongside Elena Burke and Moraima Secada, led by pianist Aída Diestro. They became one of the most important vocal quartets in Cuban music, and Omara remained with Cuarteto Las De Aída for 15 years, although the original lineup only recorded one album for RCA Victor in 1957. They toured extensively across America with innovative vocal arrangements by Aída, had the opportunity to share stages with Édith Piaf, Pedro Vargas, Rita Montaner, Bola de Nieve, and Benny Moré, and also served as accompanists for Nat King Cole when he performed at Tropicana.
He made his solo debut with the album Magia negra, released in 1959, which blends Cuban music and jazz and features covers of "That Old Black Magic" and "Caravan" by Duke Ellington. He then continued with Las De Aída until 1967, the year he finally dedicated himself to a solo career, performing in Cuba and at various international festivals representing his country.
In the 1970s, she sang with the Orquesta Aragón and traveled extensively, performing in several countries such as France, Japan, Belgium, Finland, and Sweden. Omara made many recordings over the next two decades; however, the standout is the album she recorded with Adalberto Álvarez in 1984, as well as two albums for the Spanish label "Nubenegra": "Palabras" and "Desafíos."
The Cuban director Fernando Pérez Valdés made a documentary about the singer titled Omara in 1983.
In the 2000 World Circuit release, Buena Vista Social Club presents... Omara Portuondo, the third album by this ensemble featuring musicians such as Rubén González, Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Manuel "Guajiro" Mirabal, and Jesús "Aguaje" Ramos, along with guest appearances by artists like Eliades Ochoa, Compay Segundo, Manuel Garban, and Ibrahim Ferrer.
The album, which received widespread critical acclaim, led Omara to a world tour in 2000-2001 with her Buena Vista colleagues, Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer.
In 2002, he undertook an extensive international solo tour, with numerous dates in North America and Europe. In the autumn of that same year, he participated in the Jazz Festival in Japan.
In 2003, he/she went on a tour in Canada and the United States.
In September 2003, he recorded at the EGREM studios what would become his second solo album produced by World Circuit.
The album Flor de amor marks a shift in direction, with Cuban musicians collaborating with a selection of Brazilian artists, giving the disc a unique sound.
On November 5, 2009, she won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Tropical Album with her album "Gracias." What is particularly noteworthy is that she became the first Cuban artist residing in her country to receive this prestigious award and accept it in person. In the album, Omara reflects on her 60-year artistic career, featuring special contributions from fellow Cubans Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés, Uruguayan Jorge Drexler, and Brazilian Chico Buarque.
In 2010, she recorded a track for the Spanish version of the movie The Princess and the Frog, translated as Taina y el sapo, by Walt Disney, performing a song by the elder Mama Odie: Dig a Little Deeper. For the soundtrack of the Latin American version, titled La princesa y el sapo, she did not record anything.
In September 2020, she was nominated for her album *Mariposas* in the category of 'Best Contemporary Tropical Fusion Album' at the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards.
In October 2020, in celebration of her 90th birthday, Portuondo held an online concert alongside flutist Ethiel Faílde, during which she sang iconic songs like "20 años" and "Dos Gardenias," both significant pieces in her musical repertoire throughout the years.
In December 2020, she was awarded the title of "Heroine of Labor of the Republic of Cuba" by the Council of State.
