The Cuban singer Juana Bacallao, one of the most representative figures of traditional music, was admitted in an emergency to the “Carlos Juan Finlay” Military Hospital in Havana, Cuba.
According to an anonymous source from the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), the interpreter was admitted because she presented serious health problems due to a generalized infection, reported CubaNet.
Bacallao, who will turn 99 in May, was admitted to the hospital this Monday, February 19, with a “reserved” prognosis, and no further details have been given about her evolution or the treatment she is undergoing.
Who is Juana Bacallao?
Known as “The show-woman of Cuba” due to her expressive songs with burlesque or tragic lyrics that she performed with enormous gestures and extravagant costumes, Juana Bacallao was born on May 26, 1925 in the neighborhood of Key West, Havana.
Although her real name is Neris Amelia Martínez Salazar, the singer was responsible for erasing this mark with more than six decades of career in which her stage name has been one of the best known in the cultural tradition of the Island.
Her success story began when she was working as a domestic worker in Havana, and she caught the attention of the composer, pianist, musicologist and orchestra director Obdulio Morales while she was singing while cleaning some stairs on the corner of Laguna and Perseverancia.
Upon hearing her, Morales proposed that she audition to work in a production called El Milagro de Ochún, and after passing it she became a success at the Martí Theater in the Cuban capital, thanks to the spectacle that resulted, not only her voice, but all his interpretation.
The mischief, energy and Cubanness that identified his shows and the songs and guarachas of his repertoire from the 50’s to the present left an indelible mark on his audience.
His talent shone in emblematic places such as the Teatro Campoamor, Los Aires Libres de Prado, and various cabarets such as Sans Sousi, Tropicana, Copa Room at the Riviera, Parisien at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba, Salón Rojo at Capri, Caribe at the Hotel Habana Libre, the Bar Ali and Palermo.
In addition, he had the opportunity to share the stage with renowned personalities such as Nat King Cole, Ninon Sevilla, Cantinflas, Rosita Fornés, Omara Portuondo, Rafaela Carrá, Benny Moré, Chano Pozo and Elena Burque.
Her art led her to perform on stages in different countries, such as the United States, France, Mexico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Spain, being acclaimed in each presentation.
Before retiring, in 2017, Juana Bacallao regularly sang at the Rosalía de Castro Society, in Old Havana, with the project Tradicionales de los 50, an initiative that brings together stars from the Buena Vista Social Club and the history of Cuban music. .
#Juana #Bacallao #admitted #emergency #Havana
