Clara Morales Vicente

Clara began singing as a duet with Mario from childhood. They lived in the picturesque town of Regla in adjacent houses and shared the same interests from the moment they opened their eyes to the world. Clara Morales Vicente was born in Regla.

The young people from Regla spent their entire childhood and youth singing duets at school activities and family gatherings, yet they still had time to study and carve out a space for themselves in society. Clara Morales became a music teacher, including piano instruction.

Clara was encouraged to study an intensive course in primary education to teach classes: "my daughters remember her, as they received classes in the Avenida de Dolores neighborhood where we lived," say some neighbors.
The Cuban people have always been receptive to vocal groups both in small format and with more members, and so the group formed by Clara and Mario, upon breaking onto the Cuban national scene, had great acceptance.

Mario recalls that Clara was, moreover, the queen of seriousness and discipline. Very hardworking, she never left an activity unfinished. She had her husband, Victoriano Fernández, a gastronome who still lives. They had two children.

"The husband never complained. He never objected to any work. He never cast a shadow over us. I always explained to them that they had 23 hours for themselves and one for me. And that in mine, they could not interfere. And that's how it was.

"The two of us together never left Cuba, but our music, recorded, has traveled the world. I, alone, have gone several times to Colombia, to Mexico, and to the United States."

Clara and Mario adored old songs and numbers from traditional trovador music and others by well-known foreign composers. They sang works by Sindo Garay and Manuel Corona. Also by Gonzalo Roig, Rodrigo Prats and later by Portillo de la Luz, José Antonio Méndez, Frank Domínguez and later those by Carlos Puebla, Leopoldo Ulloa and Juan Arrondo, who composed many of their numbers especially for them.

Clara was exceptional. She had an extraordinary, wonderful second voice. "I'm not saying it, the specialists say it. And it wasn't so much genius but rather that we both studied music and piano, she at the Conservatorio Borges and I at the Bosch, both private institutions in Regla."

He argues that in reality, since they knew music, they put together the repertoire well, they discussed with the arrangers and orchestra directors and at first sight they could sing any number, as well-matched as they were.

When we went to record, we knew well what we were doing. And we acquired great experience in nightclubs, cabarets, theaters and other venues and we were very well-known and applauded, Clara at the piano most of the time.

The romantic duet of Cuba, as a journalist catalogued it in 1961, made their debut on the television station directed by Gaspar Pumarejo, and so begins a career of triumph for two people from Regla who were born to sing and bring happiness to a large part of our population.

But life in most cases is not perfect and Clara Morales falls ill. On May 12, 1980