Alicia Ernestina de la Caridad del Cobre Martínez del Hoyo

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Alicia is one of the most relevant figures in the history of world dance and constitutes the leading figure of classical ballet in the Ibero-American sphere.

She began her studies in La Habana in 1931, at the Ballet School of the Pro-Arte Musical Society. Later she moved to the United States and continued her training with Enrico Zanfretta, Alexandra Fedórova, and several prominent teachers from the School of American Ballet.

Her professional activity began in 1938, on Broadway, when she debuted in the musical comedies "Great Lady" and "Stars in your eyes". A year later she joined the American Ballet Caravan, the predecessor of the current New York City Ballet.

She joined the Ballet Theatre of New York in 1940, the year of its founding. From this moment on began a brilliant stage of her career, as an interpreter of great works from the Romantic and Classical repertoire. During this stage she worked alongside Mijail Fokine, George Balanchine, Leonide Massine, Bronislava Nijinska, Antony Tudor, Jerome Robbins, and Agnes de Mille, among other significant personalities of twentieth-century choreography.

She was the principal interpreter in the world premiere of important works such as Undertow, Fall River Legend, and Theme and Variations. As a figure of the American Ballet Theatre, she performed in numerous countries in Europe and the Americas with the rank of prima ballerina.

In 1948, she founded the Ballet Alicia Alonso in La Habana, today the National Ballet of Cuba. From that moment on, her activities were divided between the American Ballet Theatre, the Ballets Russes of Montecarlo, and her own company, which she maintained with very little or no official support until 1959, the year in which the Revolutionary Government of Cuba offered her support.

Her choreographic versions of the great classics are celebrated internationally, and have been performed by other important companies such as the Ballets of the Paris Opera (Giselle, Grand Pas de Quatre, The Sleeping Beauty); the Vienna Opera and the San Carlo of Naples (Giselle); the Prague Opera (La fille mal gardée); and the Teatro alla Scala of Milan (The Sleeping Beauty).

An eminent figure of cultural life, Alicia Alonso has been invested with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of La Habana, the Higher Institute of Art of Cuba, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, Spain, and the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. In 1982, the Mexican state conferred upon her the Order "El Águila Azteca". In 1993 she was granted the Encomienda of the Order Isabella the Catholic, awarded by the King of Spain. That same year a Dance Chair bearing her name emerged at the Complutense University of Madrid. Later, she created the Foundation for Dance bearing her name, and the Alicia Alonso Higher Institute of Dance attached to the Rey Juan Carlos University.

In 1996 the Scientific, Artistic and Literary Atheneum of Madrid paid her a public tribute. She was also designated Honorary Member of the Association of Stage Directors of Spain (ADE). In 1998 she was distinguished with the Gold Medal of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid; the French Republic bestowed upon her the Order of Arts and Letters, in the Grade of Commander, and the Cuban Council of State decorated her with the title of National Heroine of Labor of the Republic of Cuba. In the year 2000 she received the Benois de la Danza Prize for her artistic contributions throughout a lifetime, and was conferred the Order José Martí, the highest decoration awarded by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba.

In 2002 she was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba by the Ministry of Foreign Relations of her country; and was invested in Paris as Goodwill Ambassador of UNESCO. As Director and principal figure of the National Ballet of Cuba, Alicia Alonso has been inspiration and guide for the formation of several generations of Cuban dancers, with her own style that has conquered a prominent place in international ballet.

In 2003 Alicia Alonso, during the National Ballet of Cuba's tour of Italy and Spain, received the Medal of the city awarded by the municipality of Perugia and the Isabel Ferrer Prize granted by the Generalitat of Valencia, Spain. In Paris she received the World Tribute for International Dance Day, organized by UNESCO, as well as the Order of the Legion of Honor, Official Grade, granted by the Government of France.

In 2005 she was proclaimed "Mother of Latin American Dance" during the celebration of the III International Dance Festival and Meeting "Women in Dance", held in Quito, Ecuador. She was also awarded the "Irene Lidova for an Entire Career" Prize, which she received at a Gala of Honor held in Cannes, France.

Throughout her more than 50 years in the world of ballet, she received 127 international recognitions. In 2010, her 90th birthday was celebrated with multiple recognitions and tributes in Cuba and around the world for this exalted figure of world dance.

Alicia passed away around 11 in the morning on October 17, 2019 at the Center for Medical and Surgical Research in La Habana. She is survived by a daughter, Laura Alonso, a grandson, Iván (Monreal Alonso), and two granddaughters, Carmen and Camila, as well as her second husband, Pedro Simón, whom she married in 1975 and who is director of the National Museum of Dance created by Alicia Alonso in 1998.

Alonso wrote for history a path of example and devotion to art, culture, and life.
Among the awards she achieved are: Prize of the Grand Theater of La Habana, 1986; National Prize for Dance 1998, from the National Council of Performing Arts of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba and the Association of Performing Artists of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) 1998; National Prize for Artistic Education, awarded by the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, 2010; Star of the Century Prize, from the Latin Institute of Music, Mexico, 2018.

Among the orders and distinctions: National Order Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and Title of Dame. Republic of Cuba. 1947; Order Ana Betancourt, awarded by the National Board of the Federation of Cuban Women, 1974; Order National Hero of Labor, awarded by the National Committee of the Central of Workers of Cuba, 1976; Order Félix Varela, from the Council of State, 1981; Raúl Gómez García Distinction, from the National Union of Workers of Culture, 1982; Title Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba, awarded by the Council of State, 1998; Order Lázaro Peña First Grade of the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, 1998; Order José Martí, awarded by the Council of State of the Republic of Cuba, 2000; Distinction for Cuban Education, Ministry of Higher Education of Cuba, 2010.