Haydée Milanés and the Strange Charm of Cultivating Boleros

June 22, 2018

The Cuban singer Haydée Milanés distinguished the 30th International Golden Boleros Festival with her exceptional talent and intimate stamp, with a demonstration of how time matters nothing before resounding works.

Some call those compositions classics that appear from time to time naturally, as if they belonged to anyone, and the Cuban vocalist took them on as such, but let us not be blind, even the classics have lost ground in times of globalization with so much banality at a worldwide level.

Milanés seems at times like a young woman out of her era, and—to further affirm this—far from surrendering to the common shortcuts of today's artists, she chooses to cultivate a repertoire, Cuban and Latin American, of great spiritual weight and abundant interpretive complexities.

She does it not only with seriousness and love, but with humility, with simplicity and a notable taste that enraptured those attending her two concerts at the National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba the evening before.

Without a single shout and in carefully studied versions, the young woman sang works such as La gloria eres tú, by Cuban José Antonio Méndez; and Contigo en la distancia, by countryman Cesar Portillo de la Luz; in addition to songs like Se te olvida and Esta tarde vi llover, by Mexicans Álvaro Carrillo and Armando Manzanero, respectively.

The artist herself observed the familiarity with which we usually listen to these authors on the island, who because they are so well-known do not seem foreign.

She also drew on the poetry of another outstanding Cuban composer of the twentieth century, Marta Valdés, to lead us through intelligent, reflective texts, filled with bold proposals.

Her songs speak for themselves, argued the singer, seconds before gifting the audience more pieces by an author who, according to Pablo Milanés, left a unique breath in Cuban music.

Precisely from that giant of composition the public expected some piece and the daughter offered two little-known jewels, accompanied from the piano by a virtuoso and sentimental Cucurucho Valdés.

The musical arrangements and musicians were splendid: Enrique Plá on drums, Roberto García on trumpet, Edgar Martínez on percussion, Samuel Burgos alternated on bass with the experienced Fabián García Caturla, while Dayron Ortiz and Raúl Verdecia contributed to the rhythm with their guitars.

To a great woman whom she loves with all the strength of her soul, Milanés dedicated the concerts, and stated: to Havana, which next year will be turning 500 years old.

According to the vocalist, it was always a dream for her to be able to participate in the Golden Bolero Festival, which takes place in this capital until June 24th, and maestro Guido López Gavilán extended the invitation.

To close the concerts, this young woman who moves past fads and truly does not need them, reserved the greatest hit by Cuban singer-songwriter Frank Domínguez: Tú me acostumbraste, and before the tide of applause joked that a song was missing, to return to Marta Valdés' repertoire with Palabras.

Although satisfied by the intensity poured into the performances, not a few were left wishing to hear more songs because with Haydée Milanés not even two consecutive concerts are enough.

Source: Prensa Latina