Tomás Morales Villena, 2010 National Dance Prize Winner, Dies in Havana

July 12, 2019

The renowned Cuban choreographer and artistic director Tomás Morales, National Dance Prize 2010, passed away in Havana on the morning of Thursday, July 11.

Originally from Matanzas province, he was born on December 21, 1936. His career spanned television and the main Havana cabarets, including Tropicana.

Founder of the Experimental Dance Ensemble, Morales began as an amateur dancer at the Television School and later expanded his studies in dance, ballet, and jazz under the guidance of Luis Trápaga, with whom he worked on high-audience musical programs in the 1950s, such as Casino de la Alegría and Jueves de Partagás.

In parallel, he developed as a choreographer in various television spaces, working with Cuban Alberto Alonso and Argentine Carlos Sandor, who decisively influenced his professional training.

He made appearances as a dancer at Tropicana under the direction of Rodney and Armando Zuez, and later premiered as choreographer and co-director of that nightclub, a position he held for 16 years, alongside Joaquín Riviera and Joaquín M. Condal.

His vocation as a musical comedian was consolidated in the Experimental Dance Ensemble, of which he was a professor, dancer, and director.

Among his shows for the Tropicana cabaret are Carnaval de Lecuona, Son y ritmo, Tropicana canta y baila para usted, Barcelona y Cuba, and Los romanos eran así.

He was also awarded the Nicolás Guillén Distinction and the Raúl Gómez García Medal.

His remains are being held at La Nacional, a funeral home located on Calzada de Infanta, from where the funeral procession will depart at 9:00 in the morning today, July 12, toward Colón cemetery in the Cuban capital.