Martha Duarte

Martha Duarte was a Cuban violinist, singer and composer born in Havana. She became the first woman to graduate in the violin specialty from Cuba's Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), and went on to serve as first violin in the orchestras of Havana's Gran Teatro for its ballet and opera seasons.

Over the course of her career she performed with the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional and the group Arte Vivo, and founded her own ensembles: Vidrio y Corte, in 1990, and Martha Duarte y Sarabanda, in 1993, with which she recorded the 2001 album Mulata de espalda, made up of her own compositions. She worked closely with Pablo Milanés and Silvio Rodríguez, transcribing their complete works for violin; her transcription of Milanés's work was published in Spain in 1999.

She also composed for theater, ballet and film, including work on director Humberto Solás's film El siglo de las luces, and in 1997 took part in the effort that set the Guinness World Record for the "longest son" ever performed. In her later years she lived in Switzerland, where she continued teaching violin master classes and promoting Cuban music. She died on August 28, 2026.