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Cuban singer-entertainer Juana Bacallao performs on the “One-Eyed Cat” cafe in Havana in 2010.
Javier Galeano/AP
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Javier Galeano/AP
Cuban singer-entertainer Juana Bacallao performs on the “One-Eyed Cat” cafe in Havana in 2010.
Javier Galeano/AP
Cuban cabaret sensation Juana Bacallao died Saturday in her hometown of Havana, in response to a assertion on social media from Cuba’s Ministry of Tradition. She was 98 years previous.
The famed, globe-trotting vocalist carried out alongside artists corresponding to Nat King Cole and Benny Moré. Her title turned synonymous with the glamorous Cuban nightclub scene of the Nineteen Forties and Nineteen Fifties.
However her profession spanned nearly her whole lifetime.
“She marked a milestone within the historical past of Cuban cabaret, from the 50s of the final century till just some years in the past,” mentioned the Ministry of Tradition’s assertion.
Recognized for her husky voice, gaudy sequined clothes, blonde wigs and risqué performances, Bacallao thrilled audiences at Tropicana and different legendary Havana nightspots. In keeping with a 2010 Denver Submit article about one in every of Bacallao’s performances, she requested the gang, ‘”Do we’ve any virgins right here?’ earlier than suggesting that a few of the male patrons must pay further for watching her so onerous.”
Bacallao was the artist’s important stage title. She was also referred to as Juana La Cubana. Her actual title was Amelia Martínez Salazar, in response to the Ministry of Tradition.
Born in a working-class neighborhood in Havana in 1925, Bacallao was orphaned at 6 and attended Catholic college, earlier than she was mentioned to have been found as a teen whereas cleansing homes by bandleader Obdulio Morales.
“Proprietor of a really particular sense of Cuban and Creole humor, she took her artwork and wit to international locations corresponding to america, France, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic and Spain,” mentioned the assertion on Fb. “Her bodily departure represents a delicate loss for the Cuban music scene.”
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