Argelia Fragoso

===BODY===
Cuban singer with skills to traverse varied song genres, with good diction and perfect musicality, great contralto range and admirable intonation.

Of classical training. Born into a musical family; her parents sang in their youth and in her family there are professional musicians, her uncles were guitarists and music teachers who have trained many generations of musicians in Cuba, the connection with the most authentic Cuban popular music has always accompanied Argelia.

During her career, seasoned with many years of study and culminated at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar, Germany, she performed on stages throughout Latin America, Europe and the United States.

Awarded in numerous festivals she has shared the stage with figures of the caliber of Armando Manzanero, Vicente Garrido, the trio Los Panchos and pianist and composer Michel Legrand.

At about seven years old she made her debut in the world of song, doing so through one of the great Cuban musicians, Rafael Lay, in the Orquesta Aragón, which had great prestige in Cuba and Latin America, in a major concert held at the Teatro Amadeo Roldán in Havana.

Around that same time she was already playing piano, and at about 8 or 9 years old she began studying it at the conservatory. After five years studying piano, she graduated first from elementary conservatory, then did the intermediate level in choral direction and singing in Havana, but she continued singing on television and radio, because the public already knew her.

Starting in the seventies she began to participate in many international events, song competitions, especially in Europe, and upon finishing the intermediate level she went to Germany to pursue higher studies studying choral direction, singing, piano, etc., and continued singing, performing galas, presentations, recording albums.

Although her training was classical, she started from popular music. Since she was seven years old she sang with the Orquesta Aragón, Cuban composers such as César Portillo, Jose Antonio Méndez, Marta Valdés... the old ones, the Vieja Trova, María Teresa Vera, Manuel Corona, Matamoros… that was her first encounter with music, and afterward she directed it with a musical career without abandoning popular music.

She taught classes for years after graduating at the intermediate level at the school, and upon her return from Germany already graduated she was a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte, she has conducted many tours maintaining her connection with classical music through singing classes, vocal technique, piano, and musical arrangements.

In 1975 she won an Award at the Dresden Festival, German Democratic Republic, as well as the Grand Prize at the Sochi Festival, Soviet Union.

In 1976 she took part in the Sopot Festival, Poland, and received the Press Award.

She has performed in European cities such as Berlin, Prague, Moscow and Sofia.

She vocalized the song that served as the theme for the XI World Festival of Youth and Students, held in Havana in 1978.

She has conducted various musical works with her brother Guillermo.

Latest Albums
Among her latest albums are:
Between Us, which is a recreation of Cuban and Latin American song seen from the perspective of jazz, made with that intention together with Spanish bass player Javier Colina and his trio, and with arrangements aimed at the recreation of feeling.
She Sings the Sentimental, which is the result of a television series for Mexico, where she had the honor of interviewing several figures of Cuban music together with Mexican journalist Virgilio Caballero. It was recorded live.

Groups, Orchestras and Personalities with Whom She Has Worked
Groups and Orchestras
Grupo Irakere
Grupo Opus Trece
Grupo Perspectiva
Orquesta Aragón
Orquesta de Cámara de la Habana
Orquesta de Música Moderna de Cuba
Orquesta de la Radio y la Televisión de Alemania, Polonia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Austria, among others
Woody Herman Orchestra. United States
Orquesta Sinfónica de Gotta. Germany
Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuba
Banda Nacional de Concierto. Cuba
Banda de Concierto. Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Spain

Personalities
Thomas Etschmann
Michell Legrand
Erick Berchot
Juan Bruno Tarraza
Frank Emilio Flynn
Vicente Garrido
Cesar Portillo de la Luz
Armando Manzanero
Jesús "Chucho" Valdés
Emiliano Salvador
Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Trío Los Panchos

Main Tours
Spain – 1989, 1994 and 1997-99, 2005
Mexico – 1987-2004
Venezuela – 1993, 2004
Panama – 1995
Peru - 1994, 1995
Costa Rica – 1992
United States - 1981, 1989
Germany – 1973, 1975, 1984
Bulgaria – 1974, 1985
Poland – 1976, 1985
Slovakia - 1975, 1985
Austria - 1984
Czechoslovakia – 1974

Discography
CD. América. Mayapple Media, United States. An anthology of Argelia's favorite songs.
CD. Havanna Feelings - Die Magie des Alten Kuba. Whoopee Records. Germany.
CD. A María Teresa Vera. Tribute to her centennial. Nubenegra. Madrid, Spain. Includes 3 songs by Argelia.
CD. Argelia Sings Vicente Garrido. PENTAGRAMA. Mexico
SP A Love Game - Don't Believe It. EGREM. Cuba
SP. The Flower Died - Twenty Years and It Could Be Less. EGREM. Cuba.
SP. In Search of a New Flower. EGREM. Cuba. (Theme song of the XI World Festival of Youth and Students).
SP. Weaving a Face in Song. AREITO. Cuba.
LP. Argelia Fragoso. AREITO. Cuba.
LP. The Voice of Argelia Fragoso. PENTAGRAMA. Mexico.
LP. Heart. EGREM. Cuba.
LP. At the Edge of Water. EGREM. Cuba.
CD. A Good Night. PENTAGRAMA. Mexico. (Recorded live.)
CD. She and I. CARIBE PRODUCCION. Panama.
CD. Between Us published by the Karonte label in 2007.