109th Anniversary of Bola de Nieve's Birth: A Very Peculiar Musician

September 11, 2019

The celebrated Cuban pianist and composer Ignacio Jacinto Villa y Fernández, known worldwide as Bola de Nieve, was born in Guanabacoa, Havana, on September 11, 1911.

His passion for music led him to study at the Guanabacoa Conservatory. Initially, he worked as a pianist for silent films at the Carral cinema in the same place. Later, he became part of Gilberto Valdés' Orchestra at the La Verbena cabaret.

Shortly after, he accompanied Rita Montaner for the first time at the Hotel Sevilla. He then traveled to Yucatán, Mexico, as her accompanying pianist to participate in a Variety show, and there he became known as Bola de Nieve, the nickname bestowed upon him by the celebrated singer. The following month they were hired to work in several theaters in Mexico City.

At the Politeama theater, he began his artistic career as a soloist. A year later, he went to the United States in the company of several artists. He then returned to Mexico, where he performed several presentations at the cinema alongside Lecuona and sopranos Margot Alvariño and Luisa María Morales.

He returned to Cuba in 1935 to work with Lecuona's company. The following year, as part of her cast, he traveled to Argentina with singer Esther Borja, pianist and composer Ernestina Lecuona, among others. There, he participated in several radio programs and in the film Adiós, Buenos Aires.

In 1937, he toured Buenos Aires, Chile, and Peru. Some time later, he returned to Argentina to participate in Lecuona's revue: La Habana en Buenos Aires, at the Avenida theater, and two years later he performed at the National Conservatory of Buenos Aires.

He worked in theaters in various Spanish cities, where he joined Lecuona's Company. Later, they traveled to the United States to perform at the Café Society in Philadelphia and at the Puerto Rico and San Juan theaters in New York, alongside Libertad Lamarque, among other renowned artists.

He maintained a program on CMQ radio called Gran Show de Bola de Nieve, in which he directed the orchestra. In the 1950s, he conducted several tours through France and various cities in Italy and Denmark.

After the revolutionary triumph, he participated in tours through Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China. Later, he worked in a Mexican restaurant and in several television programs, one of them hosted by the famous actress and singer Silvia Pinal.

Upon returning to Cuba, he performed for delegates at the Rubén Darío Encounter, organized by the Casa de las Américas. He later became part of the Cuban delegation to Expo '67, in Montreal, Canada. He died on October 2, 1971, in Mexico City.

The renowned artist sang in English, French, Italian, and Portuguese. He had a peculiar way of interpreting his songs. It is said that his greatest influence was from Cuban pianist María Cervantes, from whom he took rhythmic elements and the manner of accompanying himself on the piano.

For some, he was a great artist; others did not value him in all his magnitude. He did not consider himself either a singer or a composer, but rather someone who recited songs. Nevertheless, he left beautiful compositions for Cuban musical history, such as "Si me pudieras querer," and in my view, listening to "No puedo ser feliz" in his voice provokes a mixture of emotion and nostalgia.