Cuban Singer Marta de Santelices Passes Away

October 17, 2023

The Cuban Institute of Music reported on Monday about the death in Havana of Cuban singer Marta de Santelices Cabrera, at the age of 76.

Marta de Santelices was born in Camagüey, on February 23, 1947. She was a versatile performer of boleros, songs, ballads and other genres of Cuban music, such as son, as well as pieces from the international repertoire and music dedicated to children.

She entered the professional artistic sector in April 1968. In 1972 she graduated as an actress from the School for the Training of Actors of the ICRT and was evaluated by the Commission of Child and Youth Actors in 1983.

She represented our country in different national and international festivals. She was a member of the "Raúl Gómez García" Brigade, performing in countries such as the USSR, Mongolia, Angola, Nicaragua and Italy.

For several years she was part of the Cuban Traditional Music Project of the 50s, made up of prestigious figures in song and bolero.

She was the recipient of Distinctions and recognitions such as the Literacy Medal in 1986 and the Raúl Gómez García Medal in 1993. In 1995, the Provincial Department of Culture of Camagüey awarded her the distinction "Espejo de Paciencia" and the Provincial Department of Culture of Havana distinguished her with the "Gitana Tropical".

In 2021 she was awarded the Adolfo Guzmán Seal for her vast and prominent artistic trajectory in music.

She was a Member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC).

The Ministry of Culture, the Cuban Institute of Music and the Music and Performing Arts Marketing Companies Adolfo Guzmán and Ignacio Piñeiro, institutions to which she belonged, extend their most heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.