# Haydée Milanés Álvarez

**Date of birth:** September 28, 1980

**Categories:** Music, Singer, female composer, arranger, Society

Haydée was born in La Habana and is the daughter of the popular singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés and Yolanda Bennet.

She is a Cuban singer, composer, arranger, and music producer born in 1980 in La Habana, Cuba. Haydée Milanés grew up listening to her father sing and play guitar; likewise, on various occasions she saw him compose songs. From a very young age, she also attended his concerts and had the opportunity to witness many gatherings that took place at home, where great musicians would meet to play songs of traditional Cuban trovadorismo and son.

All that experience in her childhood forged in her a great interest in music.

She began her music studies at age 6 at the Manuel Saumell Music Conservatory in La Habana, where she started in piano, and later continued in choral direction.

Later she studied choral direction at that same conservatory and during all those years, she sang in the school choir, which performed in the churches of La Habana during Christmas celebrations. She then graduated in Theoretical-Musical Subjects from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory.

The first time Haydée Milanés sang on stage was to accompany her father in his song "Canto de la abuela"; when Haydée was only 10 years old.

She graduated in the specialty of theoretical-musical subjects at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory. Later, she perfected her popular harmony studies with maestro Pedro Jústiz Peruchín (junior).

FIRST PROJECTS
She records for the first time on the album Canto de la abuela by Pablo Milanés (1990).

From 1999 onwards, she becomes part of Ernán López-Nussa's Quartet. In 2000, Haydée participates with the quartet in the "Heineken festival" in Sao Paulo, Brazil; on that same occasion the album From Havana to Rio (Velas) was recorded, winner of the Cubadisco award, and in which maestro Tata Güines participated, as well as other great musicians from Brazil and Cuba.

DISCOGRAPHY
Haydée (Emi Music, 2004)
Composed, arranged, and produced by Descemer Bueno. It also featured collaboration from Amhed Barroso (junior), Roberto Carcassés, and other important musicians from Cuba, the United States, and Africa. It featured Kelvis Ochoa (Habana Abierta) as a guest.
Haydée Milanés en vivo (Haydée Milanés, 2008)
Compiles the concert performed at the Covarrubias Hall of the National Theater of Cuba in 2006. In it she shares the stage with: Santiago Feliú, Aldo López Gavilán, David Torrens, Suylén and Lynn Milanés, among others.
A la felicidad (Haydée Milanés, 2010)
In this album Haydée makes her debut as composer, arranger, and producer. The album includes unreleased songs and features special guests including Omara Portuondo, José Luis Cortés "El Tosco", Pablo Milanés, Pedro Aznar, Roberto Hernández "Robertón" (Van Van), Harold López-Nussa, among others.
Haydée Milanés en el Chaplin (Colibrí, 2012)
CD/DVD Compilation of selected songs from a show held in the Charles Chaplin hall in La Habana, where Haydée tours through hits from her repertoire and the popular Cuban songbook. It featured special guests including Pablo Milanés, Francis del Río, Beatrix López (Tesis de Menta), and the Interactivo group, among others.
Palabras. Haydée Milanés canta a Marta Valdés (Bis Music, 2014)
This album is an anthology that compiles an important part of the work of this important Cuban author of the twentieth century. It was arranged and produced by Haydée Milanés. Important Cuban musicians participated in the recording such as Enrique Plá and Jorge Reyes, both former members of the Irakere group, and others.
Palabras, Haydée Milanés canta a Marta Valdés EN VIVO (2016). Live presentation of the album of the same name, with the incorporation of new songs, new arrangements, and special guests.
Amor, Haydée Milanés duet with Pablo Milanés (2017), A tribute by Haydée to the work of Pablo Milanés and Cuban song, in which both sing as a duet 11 songs authored by the composer, composed between the 1960s and 1980s.

PRESENTATIONS AND COLLABORATIONS
Covarrubias Hall, National Theater of Cuba, La Habana (2002).
Casa de las Américas, La Habana, Cuba (2003).
Opening of two Julieta Venegas concerts at the Metropolitan Theater, DF, México (2004).
Cine 23 y 12, La Habana, Cuba (2005).
"La mar de músicas" Festival, Cartagena, España (2005).
"International Jazz Festival of San Sebastián", España (2005).
Sala Sol, Madrid, España (2005).
Zinc Bar Jazz Club, New York, Estados Unidos (2006).
The Living Room, New York, Estados Unidos (2006).
Sala S.O.BS, New York, Estados Unidos (2006).
Participation as special guest on a Pablo Milanés tour, España (2006).
Participation as special guest on a Pedro Aznar tour, Chile (2007).
Sala Teatro, Museum of Fine Arts, La Habana, Cuba (2007).
Seco, Tokio, Japón, presenting the project "The women are beautiful" (2008).
La trastienda, where she collaborated with Fito Páez and Hilda Lizarazu (2008).
National tour of theaters in the fourteen provinces of Cuba (2009).
Teatro Lara, Habana Cultura Festival, Madrid, España (2009).
Participation in the humanitarian project "Arriba mi gente". On that occasion she shared the stage with Pedro Guerra and Keko Jungue, Chile (2010).
Latino Festival, Sao Paulo and Paraty, Brasil (2010).
"Jazz café", San José, Costa Rica (2011).
Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival, Teatro Mella, La Habana, Cuba (2014).
Palabras Concert, Avellaneda Hall, National Theater, La Habana, Cuba (2015). Special participation from Marta Valdés, Pablo Milanés, Jorge Reyes, Enrique Plá, Yaroldi Abreu, Ernán Lopez-Nussa, and Roberto García, among others.
She has also collaborated with Chico Buarque, Luiz Melodía, Cármen París, Beatríz Márquez, José Seves, and Horacio Salinas (Inti Illimani), Luis Felipe Gama and Ana Luiza, Yusa, Diana Fuentes, Isaac Delgado, Giraldo Piloto (Klimax), Adalberto Álvarez, among others.

PARTICIPATION IN OTHER DISCOGRAPHIC PROJECTS
"Cool Cool Filing", produced by Roberto Carcassés (Ahora Corporation/Disco Caramba, Tokio, Japón) (2003).
"Art bembé", by the duo Gema and Pável (Editorial Conspiradores/Peer Music Spain) (2003).
"Cuba 21" (EMI MUSIC MEXICO) (2004).
"Breathing Havana" (Omagatoki CO.LTD, Japan) (2006).
"Women are beautiful", produced by Roberto Carcassés (2008).
"Ellas cantan bolero" (EGREM) (2011).
"La Habana canta a Sabina", produced by Imanol Ortiz. (SONY MUSIC) (2011).

PARTICIPATION IN FILM PROJECTS
"Tres veces dos", short film by Léster Hamlet (Cuba–2003).
"La noche de los inocentes", feature film by Arturo Soto (Cuba–2006).
"En el cuerpo equivocado", documentary directed by Marilyn Solaya (Cuba–2010).
"Al día siguiente", short film directed by Enrique Álvarez (Cuba–2010).

She has collaborated with important performers, such as Chico Buarque, Adalberto Álvarez, Harold López-Nussa, Enrique Plá, Jorge Reyes, Descemer Bueno, Tata Güines, Fito Páez, Pedro Aznar, Luiz Melodía, Carmen París, Los Ángeles Azules (México), Kelvis Ochoa, Isaac Delgado, Omara Portuondo, among others.

Leonardo Padura, the renowned novelist and Princess of Asturias Prize winner, has commented about Haydée and her work Palabras, Haydée Milanés canta a Marta Valdés:

"This young interpreter, who has always enveloped us in her melodic and lyrical sensitivity, has decided this time (once again) to swim against the current and, looking toward a golden corner of the Cuban songwriting tradition, create a delicate, sensual, and intelligent work that perhaps will not captivate large audiences, but will satisfy the tastes and expectations of the most demanding. And her secret to achieving this is as simple as it is difficult to accomplish: a well-measured mixture of risk, intelligence, talent, and above all, something as gratifying as good taste."

She has also earned recognition from important musicians like Julieta Venegas, who has expressed about her:

"Haydée has found her space, her own place in music, where her voice directs in a delicate and unique way any song she takes as her own. Her voice has sweetness, but at the same time decisiveness and wisdom. When approaching the songs of Pablo Milanés, and having done so with him, together they have created something new, something that is a shared territory, where their voices, the mature voice of the father, the young and wise voice of the daughter, recreate those songs, which are part of the emotional memory of so many of us, scattered throughout Latin America and the world. We can only be grateful that they have found this space together, and that we get to hear this gift of the wonderful Haydée singing with her father."

Source: Official website of Haydée Milanés https://haydeemilanes.com/es/