Xiomara Alfaro (May 11, 1930 – June 24, 2018[1]) was a Cuban coloratura soprano.[2] Her interpretation of Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona's "Siboney" was the composer's favorite.[2]
Xiomara Alfaro | |
|---|---|
 Xiomara Alfaro as a young woman | |
| Born | May 11, 1930 Havana, Cuba |
| Died | June 24, 2018 Coral Gables, Florida |
| Occupation | Singer |
Early life
editAlfaro was born in Havana. She was a musical child, and won a contest for young singers sponsored by Radio Suaritos; she regularly appeared on Radio Suaritos broadcasts, which led to further opportunities. Her sister Olympia Alfaro was also known a singer.[3]
Career
editAlfaro was a star of the Cuban music scene of the 1950s.[4] She was in the original cast of Batamú (1951), a musical revue by Obdulio Morales. She became famous as a singer of bolero music, with a clear, strong soprano voice well suited to the genre.[5] She was known as "El Ruiseñor de la Cancion" (The Nightingale of Music) and as "La Alondra de la Cancion" (The Lark of Music).[5][6]
Alfaro's film appearances included a vocal performance alongside the Katherine Dunham dancers in Mambo (1954),[7][8] and a role in Olé…Cuba! (1957), which also featured fellow Afro-Cuban singer Celia Cruz.[9] She made more than two dozen recordings for RCA Records and other labels.[10]
"I'm a very spiritual person," she explained in a 2007 interview. "I try to transmit to my audience when I sing. God gave me a gift. And when God gives you something, you use it."[10]
Recordings
edit- Siboney (1957, with Chico O'Farrill and Ernesto Duarte)
- Xiomara Alfaro en Nueva York (with Joe Cain y su Orquestra)
- Xiomara Alfaro Sings International Flavors [11]
- En Gira (1962)
- Siboney: Lo Mejor de Xiomara A)lfaro Vol. 1 (2004)
- Lamento Borincano: Lo Mejor de Xiomara Alfaro Vol. 2 (2007)
- Aquellas Canciones (2009)
- Xiomara Alfara, Cubana (2015 reissue)
- Besos en mi Sueños (2015 reissue)
- Perlas Cubanas (2015 reissue)
Personal life
editAlfaro was married to Panamanian pianist Rafael Benitez. She fled Cuba in 1960. She died in 2018, in Cape Coral, Florida, at the age of 88.[12]
References
edit- ^ "Fallece en Florida reconocida cantante cubana". elnuevoherald. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
- ^ a b YouTube – "Lo que me dijo Xiomara"
- ^ Villepastour, Amanda (2016-01-19). The Yoruba God of Drumming: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Wood That Talks. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 226. ISBN 978-1-4968-0352-8.
- ^ "A Concert of Cuba". St. Petersburg Times, May 31, 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
- ^ a b “Xiomara Alfaro: El Ruiseñor De La Cancion” « [El Blog Del Bolero]
- ^ Perez, Juan Carlos (1994-03-13). "El Ruíseñor Trina de Nuevo". El Nuevo Herald. pp. 53, 60. Retrieved 2023-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Durkin, Hannah (2019-08-16). Josephine Baker and Katherine Dunham: Dances in Literature and Cinema. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-05146-3.
- ^ Olupona, Jacob Kẹhinde; Rey, Terry (2008). Òrìşà Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-299-22464-6.
- ^ Heredia, Juanita (2009-08-03). Transnational Latina Narratives in the Twenty-first Century: The Politics of Gender, Race, and Migrations. Springer. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-230-62325-5.
- ^ a b Cabrera, Cloe (2007-05-31). "'X' Marks the Spot". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 49, 51. Retrieved 2023-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Xiomara Alfaro, Xiomara Alfaro Sings International Flavors, Internet Archive, Jubilee, retrieved 2023-01-11
- ^ Cantor-Navas, Judy (2018-06-26). "Cuban Singer Xiomara Alfaro Dies at 88". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-01-11.