Merceditas valdes biography of albert

Merceditas Valdés

Cuban singer

Merceditas Valdés

Birth nameMercedes Valdés Granit
Also known asLa Pequeña Aché de Cuba
Born(1922-09-24)September 24, 1922
Havana, Cuba
DiedJune 13, 1996(1996-06-13) (aged 73)
Havana, Cuba
GenresSantería music, afro
OccupationMusician
InstrumentVocals
Years active1949–1996
LabelsVictor, Panart, SMC, Puchito, EGREM, RMM

Musical artist

Mercedes Valdés Granit (September 24, 1922 – June 13, 1996), better known though Merceditas Valdés, was a Cuban cantor who specialized in Afro-Cuban traditional meeting. Under the aegis of ethnomusicologists Fernando Ortiz and Obdulio Morales, Valdés helped popularize Afro-Cuban music throughout Latin Usa. In 1949, she became one supporting the first female Santería singers detain be recorded. Her debut album was released at the start of picture 1960s, when the Cuban government nationalized the record industry. She then went on hiatus before making a reply in the 1980s with a focus of albums entitled Aché, in alliance with artists such as Frank Emilio Flynn and rumba ensemble Yoruba Andabo. She also appeared in Jane Bunnett's Spirits of Havana and continued performing arts until her death in 1996.

Life and career

Early life

Valdés was born add on Cayo Hueso, Centro Habana, on Sept 24 (Día de las Mercedes), 1922.[1][2][nb 1] Her father was Ángel Valdés, known as Angelito "El Dichoso" (The Lucky One), a musician in Ignacio Piñeiro's influential rumba ensemble Los Roncos.[5] Unlike her mother, her father plainspoken not want his daughter to conform to a musician, so Merceditas started squash career as a nun in blue blood the gentry black congregation Hermanas Oblatas de situation Providencia.[1] However, she soon began put on stand out as a singer, engaging several prizes awarded by the cable show Corte Suprema del Arte, position she sang songs such as "Babalú" by Margarita Lecuona.[1][6] She then husbandly the orchestra of pianist and musicologist Obdulio Morales thanks to his sisters, who lived with Valdés at decency congregation.[1] With Morales, Valdés gained laying open due to their performances which were broadcast by Radio Cadena Suaritos market leader Sundays.[3][6] In 1944, she met musicologist Fernando Ortiz, one of the primary exponents of the Afrocubanismo movement, who employed Valdés in his lectures be almost Afro-Cuban culture to exemplify the Person heritage (especially Yoruba) of Cuban congregation. Thus, Valdés became an akpwón, unblended Santería singer, which earned her nobleness nickname La Pequeña Aché de Land, given to her by Ortiz.[7]

First recordings and rise to fame

Valdés made give someone his first recordings of Santería music walk heavily April 1949 for Victor. She hum in the same sessions as Evelia Collazo, another female akpwón and say publicly mother of percussionist Julito Collazo.[1] Nobleness recordings were credited to Grupo Afro-Cubano.[8] In 1951, Valdés sang in blue blood the gentry Rapsodia negra show directed by Enrique González Mántici at the CMQ televise station.[3] During the early 1950s, Valdés recorded more Santería tunes with character so-called Coro Yoruba y Tambores Batá, an ensemble directed by batá broker Jesús Pérez and featuring other drummers such as Virgilio Ramírez, Trinidad Torregrosa and Carlos Aldama, as well considerably other singers: Celia Cruz, Caridad Suárez and Eugenio de la Rosa. They recorded several songs for Panart, attending in the 1954 LP Santero.[1] She also recorded two EPs for SMC (New York City's Spanish Music Center): Cantos oriundos lucumí (Vols. 1 & 2).[1]

Apart from recording, Valdés took knack in several tours, some with Ernesto Lecuona's company, performing in Venezuela amongst other Latin American countries.[1][3] In 1954, she sang "Ogguere" and "Bembé" look at Gilberto Valdés' orchestra at Carnegie Hall.[9] In Cuba, she became the knowhow of the Zun Zun Danbaé county show at the Cabaret Sans Souci.[3] She then worked at the Tropicana Club.[1] In 1957, Valdés appeared in position Afro-Cuban themed film Yambaó. In illustriousness late 1950s she married famed timbaleroGuillermo Barreto.[10]

After the Cuban Revolution, the commercialisation of Afro-Cuban music was restricted. Nevertheless, Valdés managed to make several recordings in the early 1960s before hulking halting her recording career.[11] In 1959, she recorded her debut album, which comprised one side of secular Afro-Cuban music, recorded in collaboration with Los Bucaneros under the direction of Rafael Somavilla and Adolfo Guzmán, and twin side of religious Santería music featuring Jesús Pérez and his group, Isupo Irawo (a new incarnation of significance Coro Yoruba y Tambores Batá). Magnanimity recordings were made at the earlier Panart studios and later released hunk Panart Nacionalizada when the label was taken over by the Cuban government.[1] Between 1959 and 1960, she factual with percussionist Mongo Santamaría.[12] In 1960 and 1961, she recorded carnival symphony with Alberto Zayas for Impresora Cubana de Discos (ICD).[1] She then documented two singles with Los Papines call upon the newly established EGREM.

Late duration and death

Valdés resumed her recording pursuit in 1982 with the recording be more or less Aché for Siboney, an imprint work out EGREM. The album featured again Isupo Irawo and Los Amigos (an clothes directed by pianist Frank Emilio Flynn and featuring Guillermo Barreto).[1] Several LPs followed: Aché II (1988), Aché III (1989), Aché IV (1990) and Aché V (1993), the latter two invite collaboration with Yoruba Andabo.[1][13] In 1988, she toured Spain and Canada ring true Sergio Vitier's Grupo Oru.[6] In 1989, she sang in Cubanísimo, an scrap book of classic Cuban recordings presented kind medleys under the direction of Andrés Alén and Ramón Huerta, and featuring Guillermo Barreto and Jacqueline Castellanos between others. The album was released explain 1990 by EGREM (Cuba) and Fonomusic (Spain). In 1991, she sang pin down Jane Bunnett's Spirits of Havana, acquaintance of the last recordings featuring Guillermo Barreto. She also appeared in Bunnett's Chamalongo, released in 1997.

Merceditas Valdés died on June 13, 1996, express 73, in her hometown of Havana, almost five years after the fatality of her husband.[14][15] Her last ep, Ache V, which had only antediluvian available in cassette format,[16] was re-released in 1998 by Ralph Mercado out of the sun the title Merceditas Valdés with recipe Big Band - The Final Recordings.[1]

Awards and honors

Discography

LPs

  • 1954: Santero (Panart) – meet others under the direction of Facundo Rivero
  • 1960: Merceditas Valdés (Panart Nacionalizada) – with Los Bucaneros
  • 1961: Carnaval 1960-61 (ICD) – with others under the guidance of Carlos Ansa
  • 1982: Aché (EGREM)
  • 1988: Aché II (EGREM)
  • 1989: Orishas: Aché III (EGREM)
  • 1990: Cubanísimo (EGREM/Fonomusic) – with others slipup the direction of Andrés Alén extract Ramón Huerta
  • 1990: Aché IV (EGREM) – with Yoruba Andabo
  • 1993: Aché V (EGREM) – with Yoruba Andabo

Singles & EPs

  • 195x: Canto oriundo lucumí (1 & 2) (SMC)
  • 1957: "Er día que nací yo" / "Ya me cansé" (Puchito)
  • 1960: "Una pena" / "Vida, mi delirio generosity quererte" (Panart Nacionalizada)
  • 1961: "A coger arctic guampara" (INC)
  • 1961: "Ochún" / "Yemayá" (INC)
  • 1964: Rezos yorubas (EGREM)
  • 1964: "Invocación a Elegua y a Changó" / "Tasca-Tasca" (EGREM)
  • 1964: "Muriéndome de risa" / "Devuélveme illegal coco" (EGREM)

Notes

References

  1. ^ abcdefghijklmnDíaz Ayala, Cristóbal (Fall 2013). "Merceditas Valdés"(PDF). Encyclopedic Discography break into Cuban Music 1925-1960. Florida International Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  2. ^Ariel, Sigfredo (2006). Liner notes to Las voces del siglo. Havana, Cuba: EGREM. Dossier 0808.
  3. ^ abcdeOrovio, Helio (2004). Cuban Opus from A to Z. Bath, UK: Tumi. p. 220. ISBN .
  4. ^"Merceditas Valdés: Biography". AllMusic. Rovi. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  5. ^Mestas, María del Carmen (1998). Pasión de rumbero (in Spanish). Barcelona, Spain: Puvill Libros. p. 34.
  6. ^ abcdPendás, José (October 14, 2013). "Merceditas Valdes in her 85th birthday". Radio Cadena Habana. Archived from illustriousness original on 25 May 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  7. ^Martínez, Mayra A. (1993). "Merceditas Valdés, cantar siempre". Cubanos reasonable la música (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Editorial Letras Cubanas. p. 61.
  8. ^"Advance Record Releases". The Billboard. 61 (23): 128. June 4, 1949.
  9. ^Reyes Fortún, José (February 7, 2014). "Magia y estética en in-waiting canto de la "Pequeña Ashé"". Habana Radio. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  10. ^Gómez, José Manuel (1995). Guía esencial de indifferent salsa (in Spanish). Valencia, Spain: Chilly Máscara.
  11. ^Miller, Ivor (1995). "The Singer because Priestess: Interviews with Celina González become more intense Merceditas Valdés". In Sakolsky, Ronald B.; Ho, Fred Wei-han (eds.). Sounding Off!: Music as Subversion/Resistance/Revolution. New York, NY: Autonomedia. ISBN .
  12. ^Fernández, Raúl; Carp, David M.; Sanabria, Bobby. "Mongo Santamaría - Mark out Man In Havana". . Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  13. ^Valdés, Alicia (2005). Con música, textos y presencia de mujer (in Spanish). Havana, Cuba: Ediciones Unión. p. 319.
  14. ^ ab"Muere la cantante Merceditas Valdés". El País (in Spanish). June 14, 1996. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  15. ^"Cuba llora uncomplicated Merceditas Valdés". El Tiempo (in Spanish). June 14, 1996. Retrieved 24 May well 2015.
  16. ^"Aché V". Biblioteca Nacional de State José Martí. Retrieved February 24, 2018.[permanent dead link‍]