FIVE MORE ESSENTIAL POP SINGERS – Second of a series.

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

CELIA CRUZ

By 1950 Celia Cruz was rising to fame in Cuba as the lead vocalist with the Sonora Matancera, a popular orchestra with which she developed her one of a kind style, singing the whole gamut of Cuban music. In 1960 Cruz left Cuba and continued her career internationally, eventually settling in the United States and singing well into her seventies

EL Yerberito Moderno https://youtu.be/5AACnDcAix4

MERCEDES SOSA

Sometimes known as La Negra Sosa was an Argentine singer popular throughout Latin America who became one of the preeminent exponents of La nueva cancion (The New Song), a kind of folk song utilizing texts by Latin American poets that gave voice to songs written by many Latin American songwriters. Her music made people hail her as the “voice of the voiceless ones”

Gracias a la vida (Thanks be to Life) https://youtu.be/jAlKfFLFnRI

CARLOS GARDEL

Gardel was a French-born, Argentine singer, songwriter, composer and actor, as well as the foremost exponent of Tango music. As one of the most influential interpreters of popular music in the first half of the 20th century, Gardel was recognized throughout the world for his unique voice and style. Gardel wrote several classic tangos, among them Volver (To return) https://youtu.be/d9r6AAyEsis

BARBARA COOK

During her years as a Broadway soprano, Cook was widely admired. As she aged, her voice took on a mature, womanly quality. Cook became recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of musical theatre songs and standards, which she continued to sing in cabaret and in concert well into her eighties. https://youtu.be/Y_G4JNMURj4

CLEO LAINE

Dame Cleo Laine is an English jazz and pop singer and actress known for her uncanny vocalism, her facility with scat singing, and her enormous three-octave vocal range. Laine is a stylish interpreter of standards, jazz, and even comfortable in classical and show music. https://youtu.be/PVx3Rndi2W4

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”