Omara Portuondo to play Miami in March
November 22nd, 2009 by Jordan Levin - filed under Cuban Colada, Feeds, Miami Herald.
Cuban singer Omara Portuondo will perform in Miami Beach on March 2nd, 2010, the first major Cuban star to be announced for the greater Miami area since connections between the U.S. and the island tightened up in 2003. The Buena Vista Social Club star and former member of beloved quartet Los D'Aida will sing at the Fillmore Miami Beach in a show presented by the Rhythm Foundation, a non-profit organization which has been presenting world music artists in Miami for over twenty years. The group has not specialized in Cuban artists, but it did co-present, with the Miami Light Project, the legendary rumberos Munequitos de Matanzas in 2002.
Photo by Pedro Portal
Rhythm Foundation directors met with Omara's manager while the singer was in Miami visiting her sister last month and doing a few press interviews (including mine, covered on video by El Nuevo videographer and photographer Pedro Portal). Omara seemed hesitant about the idea of doing a concert in Miami – she had strong memories of coming to Miami Beach to perform at the MIDEM music conference in 1998 and having her performance delayed by bomb threats. Obviously, she was persuaded.
Omara recently made history by being the first Cuban artist to appear on the Latin Grammys telecast, accepting the awards for Best Contemporary Tropical Album on Univision's broadcast, and saluted warmly by a number of the artists appearing on the show. Whether her appearance in Miami Beach is controversial remains to be seen; her signing of a letter of support for the Cuban government in the 'black spring' of 2003 might still anger some. But there also seems to be much more openness and longing for Cuban music in the wake of Juanes' Havana concert in September.
Omara gave several concerts in California before appearing on the Grammys; the visa she got for that trip lasts a year, and will allow her to return for the Miami show, as well as a concert in New York.
Meanwhile, the Septeto Nacional Ignacio Pineiro plays at tiny Hoy Como Ayer this Saturday – the first Cuban act from the island to visit since 2003. Their music is pure, pleasurable history – let's see what happens!
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