Omara Portuondo sings a Bolero to Life together with Gaby Moreno

May 18, 2021

Bolero a la Vida is the title of the new song by the Diva of Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC), Omara Portuondo, available since last Friday on digital platforms. It is the second single from the performer's upcoming album, and features the acclaimed Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, giving us a resounding bolero, like life itself. 

Gaby Moreno, who performs the well-known romantic hymn Fuiste Tú (Ricardo Arjona), said that she had the opportunity to enjoy Omara Portuondo's talent alongside BVSC when they coincided at a couple of European concerts. From that moment on, she perceived that life was putting before her an extraordinary star of music, one who became even more brilliant because of her simplicity and kindness.

Producing some songs from this album, which is a symbol of renewal for her long career, is a true privilege, and even more so to sing alongside her the theme that she herself inspired us with. Bolero a la Vida sums up what this queen of Cuban song has conveyed with luck, she stressed.

Moreno acknowledged that during her career she has had the opportunity to do several duets with important artists such as Hugh Laurie (the well-known actor and singer who plays Dr. House), Andrea Bocelli, Tommy Torres, Leonel García (Sin Bandera), and her dear compatriot Ricardo Arjona.

All those participations, she said, have been a source of enormous satisfaction. However, this union of voices with Omara has moved me to my very core because she is an icon not only in Cuba, but in the entire world.

Gaby Moreno, from Los Angeles, assumed the majority of the burden in the musical production and arrangements of many of the album's songs, in constant communication with the team in Cuba.

Tireless and dynamic after 90 years of fruitful existence, the new recording by the one also known as the Bride of Feeling has kept her very busy, and not even the COVID-19 pandemic has dampened her desire to live and sing. Bolero a la Vida is another gift that anticipates the new recording in which the former member of D´Aida Omara Portuondo has worked throughout the pandemic, as a beautiful symbol of human creativity.

Recorded fundamentally in her home in Havana with the support of producers Ariel Jiménez and Pedro Pablo Cruz and sound engineering by the experienced engineer Orestes Águila, the album will be filled with satisfaction and glory. In response to the call of the iconic singer, artists of the caliber of Dionne Warwick, Raphael, Susana Baca and Natalia Lafourcade have also responded, with Cuban representation including Amaury Pérez, Alexander Abreu and the Orquesta Failde.

The first single, Silencio, alongside Puerto Rican Andy Montañez, was released at the end of last year as part of the celebrations for the nine decades of life of the Bride of Feeling.

Little is yet known about the selected repertoire and the guest list promises surprises, but the singer's office has confirmed that the cover and final art of this album will be in charge of the great master of Cuban visual arts Alfredo Sosabravo.

We also learned that for May 28, the release of the music video for Bolero a la Vida is announced, directed by the talented audiovisual filmmaker Joseph Ros, to put a face and cadence to the voices of the eternal Omara and Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno.