Aurora Basnuevo Hernández

Cuban actress and singer very popular for the radio character Estelvina in the radio program Alegrías de sobremesa on the Radio Progreso station. As an actress she performed in theater, stories, and comedies. She also worked in musical programs, versatile as a humorist, singer, and presenter on occasions.

Native of Colón, she lived on Calixto García Street # 125, corner of Bartolomé Masó. There she attended the José de la Luz y Caballero school and took piano lessons through fourth grade. She was a quiet and well-behaved child. She learned to read and write at three and four years old.

Her parents aspired for her to become a teacher, so when she turned 13, they took her to the Capital. There she studied at the Normal School for Teachers of Havana and at the Conservatory on Calle Monte y Rastro.

She always loved music very much but also teaching. She was very studious, wore little glasses and they called her Doctor Candelaria Candela.

But she carried within her the 'artist bug' and could not help but try her luck in 1957, when she was in her third year of studies: "Without my mother knowing, I appeared on the television program hosted by José Antonio Alonso. It was a huge surprise for the whole family when they turned on the television and I was on the screen wearing a borrowed dress that I had put on in a bathroom at CMQ station. I won first prize and became a Rising Star. From that moment on, I began to take repertoire classes with Isolina Carrillo because José Antonio was very interested in my way of being and expressing. He told Isolina: 'take away all the numbers that resemble any other artist, start by teaching her new songs so that she is herself.' He always advised me: 'don't look like anyone else.'

For a long time I balanced music with work in a school. These were the early days of the Revolution and although the teacher shortage forced me to double my class shifts, I didn't want to give up either of my two passions.

At Rising Star she met actor Mario Limonta and they became sweethearts. Since he didn't want her to be an actress, when they married she pursued only the teaching career.

Although she remained away for a time, her vocation brought her back to the stage. In the sixties, director Cuqui Ponce de León invited her back to the boards, this time as an observer at rehearsals of the Rita Montaner group.

"I prepared for several months until they gave me the lead role in a work by Héctor Quintero, Room 406, which Miguel Montesco was going to direct.

"On the day of the dress rehearsal, I told Mario that I wanted his opinion as an actor and when it ended he said: 'if I were you, I wouldn't go out tomorrow, you were terrible.' Crying, I begged Miguel: 'I can't do it, my husband found me terrible.' Then the director confronted me: 'what he is is dead with jealousy.'

"That turned out to be the greatest success I've had in my life: applause, cheers, the next day the press compared me with the greatest: Luis Carbonell, Esther Borja.

"With Cuqui's company I worked in many productions: Los cuchillos del 23, La pérgola de las flores, La yaguas, I sang boleros, danced rumba, guaracha."

After this, Eduardo Robreño and Enrique Núñez Rodríguez took her to the Jorge Anckermann group, and thanks to them she made her entrance at Teatro Martí. At this stage she shares the stage with several figures of Cuban vernacular theater including Candita Quintana, Alicia Rico, Carlos Pons, Enrique Arredondo, Carlos Moctezuma, Eloísa Álvarez Guedes, and Ramón Espigul.

Around that time, in the coliseum on Santo Tomás Street between Trinidad and Habana, she starred in works such as "El remero respetuoso," a parody of "La ramera respetuosa" written by Arturo Liendo, or "El guajiro Pedro Manso," a piece by Rómulo Loredo. La Mulatísima sang and danced to the music of Adolfo Guzmán, Enrique Jorrín, Rodrigo Prats. These were the golden years of theater.

Beginning in 1968, she worked in two adventures of Los Mambises, directed by Antonio Vázquez Gallo with scripts by Manolo Carballido Rey. Later, director Raúl Pérez included her in the cast of Túpac Amaru. Later she worked as an actress and singer in Tierra o sangre, written by Abraham Rodríguez and directed by Miguel Sanabria.

As an actress she performed in theater, stories, and comedies. She also worked in musical programs, versatile as a humorist, singer, and presenter on occasions.

"From the Sunday comedies she remembers El que dijo sí y el que dijo no, directed by Ana Lasalle and starring Verónica Lynn and Raúl Selis. She also worked extensively in comedies with Severino Puente as director, acting and singing." "From Teatro ICR she remembers 'Cantar por Tilín García' directed by Vázquez Gallo. Also directed by Vázquez Gallo, El robo del cochino, by Abelardo Estorino. From vernacular theater she performed in La niña de mis ojos, where she shared the stage with Carlos Pous, Fela Jar, directed by Severino Puente. In this work she sang and danced. She did many stories directed by Loly Buján, Severino Puente, Sirio Soto, among others. She was also called by Silvano Suárez and Miguel Sanabria to work in some productions of the Horizontes program."

She participates in the program "San Nicolás del Peladero," in which she begins her work as the mulatta partner of Enrique Arredondo in the role of the black character and later as the wife of "Sergeant Arencibia," a character embodied by her husband.

She has worked extensively in Radio Progreso's dramatic programming with Caridad Martínez and Gilberto Enríquez both in Cuban Novel, for example "Sol de Batey" by Dora Alonso, and in the historic "Así se forjó la Patria" and in the Adventures. Directed by Erdwin Fernández, she worked in the humorous "Quién bien te quiere te hará reír," with a script by Alberto Luberta.

But where the people identify her most is in Alegrías de sobremesa. Mario Limonta told Alberto Luberta that she had a great character for Alegrías de Sobremesa, that was 'a banquet.' When Luberta met Estervina he told her: 'you start tomorrow.' I was lucky in that sense, but not because of my pretty face, but because of what I did." "Estervina meant reaching the people and making them love me as they do now. I always said that in addition to Estervina I had to do other things, but that I would never leave her. Estervina is the people, it's how people want me. The public cried when Alegrías ended…, they hugged me and said… 'not you, not you.'

She also worked for children, she has more than 30 recorded children's songs such as Juan me tiene sin cuidado and la Pavita Pechugona.

With Alegrías de Sobremesa she has traveled throughout Cuba and performed in Angola bringing art and joy to the people and Cuban internationalists. Also for more than 20 years she hosts, acts, and sings on the peasant program "Fiesta Guajira" on Radio Progreso.

She has appeared in different films, which have given her the opportunity to express her art and perform in different countries such as Spain, where she dubbed into Spanish the film "Salsa," filmed in Paris in French.

She has also visited Mexico for her work in "Robinson Crusoe," which was also made in French. There she worked in a dramatic role with Pierre Richard. The film "Estorvo" with Rui Guerra, she made in Portuguese and did not need to be dubbed.

Filmography
1965: El encuentro. Director: Manuel Octavio Gómez.
1967: Asalto al tren central. Director: Alejandro Saderman.
1968:
Vals de la Habana Vieja. Director: Luis Felipe Bernaza.
Estorbo. Director: Ruy Guerra.
Cuarteto de La Habana (Spain-Cuba). Director: Fernando Colombo.
1999:
Salsa (France). Director: Joice Buñuel.
Las profecías de Amanda. Director: Pastor Vega.
2001:
Rosa. Director: Valeria Sarmiento.
Encantado (Italy). Director: Corrado Colombo.
2002: Robinson Crusoe (France). Director: Thierry Chabert.
2005:
Adela. Director: Humberto Solás.
Habana Blues (Spain-Cuba). Director: Benito Zambrano.

Awards and Recognition
Sunflowers of Popularity awarded annually by Revista Opina. Havana, 1981-1989.
Microphone of Cuban Radio for her work in that medium. Havana, 1989.
Distinction for National Culture, awarded by the State Council of the Republic of Cuba.
Alegrías de Sobremesa: Best Actress at the Cuban Radio Festival. Havana, 1998.
Gypsy Tropical Distinction, awarded by the Provincial Directorate of Culture of Havana, 2012.
ACTUAR Prize for Life's Work, awarded by the Artistic Agency of Scenic Arts ACTUAR 2014.
Honorary Title at the 1st edition of the Enrique Almirante Prize (2015).

Diva of Cuban Radio
On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the poetess, writer, and radio and television scriptwriter, Georgina Herrera, Radio Progreso proclaimed together with Aurora Basnuevo, Lilia Rosa López, Caridad Martínez, Alicia Fernán, Carmen Solar, and Georgina Almanza, "Divas of Cuban Radio" for their dedication in body, mind, and soul to that mass communication medium from their respective professions.

Aurora Basnuevo Hernández is always smiling; she carries joy as a banner. Among all the things she loves are family, country, and her people. She feels fulfilled, her body vibrates and her spirit is reborn when she makes others laugh. Everyone longs to find a love like the one she has for Mario Limonta. He has been her companion, her cane, and strength to continue. The public, the other.