Cuban singer-entertainer Juana Bacallao performs on the “One-Eyed Cat” cafe in Havana in 2010. Javier Galeano/AP conceal caption
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Javier Galeano/AP
Cuban singer-entertainer Juana Bacallao performs on the “One-Eyed Cat” cafe in Havana in 2010.
Javier Galeano/AP
Cuban cabaret sensation Juana Bacallao died Saturday in her hometown of Havana, in response to a assertion on social media from Cuba’s Ministry of Tradition. She was 98 years previous.
The famed, globe-trotting vocalist carried out alongside artists reminiscent of Nat King Cole and Benny Moré. Her title turned synonymous with the glamorous Cuban nightclub scene of the Nineteen Forties and Nineteen Fifties.
However her profession spanned nearly her whole lifetime.
“She marked a milestone within the historical past of Cuban cabaret, from the 50s of the final century till only a few years in the past,” stated the Ministry of Tradition’s assertion.
Recognized for her husky voice, gaudy sequined clothes, blonde wigs and risqué performances, Bacallao thrilled audiences at Tropicana and different legendary Havana nightspots. In line with a 2010 Denver Put up article about one among Bacallao’s performances, she requested the group, ‘”Do we now have any virgins right here?’ earlier than suggesting that a few of the male patrons must pay further for gazing her so onerous.”
Bacallao was the artist’s important stage title. She was also called Juana La Cubana. Her actual title was Amelia Martínez Salazar, in response to the Ministry of Tradition.
Born in a working-class neighborhood in Havana in 1925, Bacallao was orphaned at 6 and attended Catholic faculty, earlier than she was stated to have been found as a youngster whereas cleansing homes by bandleader Obdulio Morales.
“Proprietor of a really particular sense of Cuban and Creole humor, she took her artwork and wit to nations reminiscent of the US, France, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Spain,” stated the assertion on Fb. “Her bodily departure represents a delicate loss for the Cuban music scene.”
