Lourdes Margarita Torres Ortiz

Cuban singer-songwriter in her original work you can find countless themes, all related to the social reality in which she has lived and lives, telling not only her experiences but those of the people around her who have always followed her closely. She was born in Guanabacoa. Lourdes began her career in 1952 at just twelve years old as a lyric singer in Professor María Adams' choir, with which she made her first performances at the Principal de la Comedia theater and on Channel 4 of Cuban Television in the program nuestra Cuba. In 1955 she was heard by chance by Roberto Rodríguez, an artist manager, who presented her the next day to Maestro Ernesto Lecuona, who listened to her carefully while accompanying her on piano. At the end he told Lourdes: prepare yourself comino (with that nickname he christened her for her small stature), that in my next concert, you will premiere this work for me and so, by the hand of one of the greatest musicians in our country, her professional career begins. The Maestro Lecuona prophesied early of her when he expressed: warm voice of a privileged timbre in its velvety tone and temperament. Look at Lourdes, she will go very far if she cultivates her qualities properly, her temperament and her voice. This is how Rita Montaner and Esther Borja began. Lourdes is my discovery that will be a great success. Lecuona included her in that concert that would take place as each year near the national holiday of October 10th and on this occasion would be the 9th. For this purpose he gave Lourdes his song Sin encontrarte, an original score that she still preserves as the most sacred of her trophies. Lourdes shared that night the stage with already established figures such as, among others, Alba Marina, América Crespo, Conchita, Biada, Esther Valdés, accompanied by a large orchestra conducted by Maestro Félix Guerrero, with the then Teatro Nacional de Cuba as the stage. It was a night of debut and success for Lourdes Torres and for Lecuona her discoverer, so she continued her performances for more than a year alongside the maestro and within the lyric song movement. In 1956 she began her career as a popular music singer with Maestro Candito Ruiz as her repertoire master, joining various small format groups, among them the Cuarteto Anaya where she played the vibraphone, the Luis Santí Conjunto and Paquito Rodino's Choir at Tropicana among others, sharing performances with Nat King Cole, Pedro Vargas, Julia de Palma and Celia Cruz. In the late fifties she participated in her starring show alongside Benny Moré, Fernando Álvarez and Orlando Vallejo, while alternating with performances on radio and television. Lourdes completed advanced studies in music theory, piano, ballet and singing at the Municipal Conservatory on Rastro Street in the Centro Habana neighborhood, with teachers of the caliber of Alberto Alonso (ballet), Zoila Gálvez and María Adams (singing) while she pursued her general education studies. In December 1959 she traveled as part of a show to Venezuela with Ramón Veloz, Coralia Fernández, Ramón Calzadilla, Sonia Calero, Miguel Ojeda and his guitars, among others, until in 1961 she joined as lead voice the popular quartet Los Modernistas when Yolanda Brito decided to leave it. Los Modernistas was a school that made the dream of Maestro Lecuona and all the teachers Lourdes had throughout her artistic career a reality. On January 8, 1993, the quartet dissolved after 33 years of existence. On many occasions when Lourdes Torres has been interviewed, she has expressed her discontent over the disappearance of her cherished quartet. Lourdes, who developed as a singer within this vocal group, despite having all the maturity necessary to begin her career as a soloist, never accepted the abrupt breakup of the Quartet, especially because the real reasons for this sudden separation were not precisely wanting to start her solo career. In her new stage as a soloist, Lourdes performs in Portugal, returns to Mexico and Colombia, among others, and consolidates her career as a composer that had already emerged when she triumphed in 1973 at the Festival del Creador with her anthological "Fue así que te olvidé" one of the most covered themes not only in Cuba but by foreign singers and groups. In her original work you can find countless themes, all related to the social reality in which she has lived and lives, telling not only her experiences but those of the people around her who have always followed her closely. She has spoken of love, friendship, the capital, betrayal, frustrations, envies and also of happiness and hope. She has more than two hundred titles in her collection, the majority turned into hits by that public that admires her, loves her and respects her. Some of her works have won important contests in our country and abroad. Something that was expressed on a certain occasion by someone as authoritative as composer and performer Marta Valdés: Lourdes Torres possesses the gift of song. Her steps in music were firm from the first moment and I thanked her sincerely for her firmness. When I listen to her, I have the impression that a musical passage could not be sung in any other way. Every time her presence is announced, I know that something just and beautiful will happen in that possibility that makes the world of song something unique and fascinating. 

At 77 years of age, the renowned interpreter and composer died on Wednesday, August 16, 2017 in Havana; she suffered from kidney failure, but had been dealing with "several months" of respiratory difficulties presumably caused by lung cancer because "She never stopped smoking," her daughter, singer Lourdes Libertad, reported that it was respiratory failure that caused her death. As one of the main exponents of Cuban song of all time, Lourdes Torres leaves a great legacy to novice singers and equal example to contemporary composers.