As the girlfriend of feeling, OmaraPortuondobecame the Diva of the Buena Vista Social Club, an indispensable icon of the Cuban cultural heritage of all times.
Her life and work, both intense and broad, have been comprised in a recent documentary by Lester Hamlet, which will be premiered soon.
The documentary on this renowned singer born in 1930 was released with the title De Cuba… Omara. Fernando Perez a few years ago made a documentary entitled Omara; however, a lot has happened with this artist so this new material brings new things and unpublished statements by different personalities that are acquainted with her and give their vision of her. Some of these figures are Amaury Pérez, Santiago Alfonso, Eusebio Leal, Ángel Diaz, Teresa García Caturla and José María Vitier.
With the purpose of knowing more about this new documentary, OnCuba talked with Lester Hamlet, who once again pays homage to the Cuban music.
“We had a lot of material on Omara in the archives, but not on her childhood, so this documentary begins with her early years where her talent and personality were shaped. Portuondo used to sing and began her professional career at a young age so the documentary starts there”, said the producer.
“We can say this is a testimonial documentary because it includes a beautiful interview she gave me at the National Museum of Fine Arts. This work aims at getting closer to a figure that at her age is not sure about what has happen with her life because she never set herself to achieve so much nor to become the great star she is today. A lot in her life has happened by chance.
She states all she has to be thankful for is for being at the right place in the right moment. She affirms her life just got to her and she never looked for anything, so this documentary is also about that. With it, people learn more about the history of the Cuban music because she has been a witness and has been part of all our culture, from Maria Teresa Vera to present day. She has performed in duets with many artists from all over the world and has had the pleasure to know the authors of the songs she has interpreted.”
Once again music calls for her…
All my works on music pay homage to the genre, but this one rather pays homage to that great figure, whose voice is part of every Cuban band and the Cuban heritage of the island.
What aspects of Omara’s life is the documentary focused on?
Omara has become a symbol of the Cuban identity and it is a privilege to be able to approach her work, do some research on her life. Each day was more amazing than the previous one for her links to other cultural spheres.
Omara was also an actress, she worked with Humberto Solas in Cecilia and in Baragua, by Jose Massip, and she has even put her voice to some Disney characters. She has been so big and she has had such a long life that just one documentary is not enough to talk about her constant work.
She has been presented important awards; she has been on the most important scenarios with very famous artists and never lost her essence, which is portrayed in the documentary. She has been very intense. In this homage to be premiered soon, she constantly talks about chance in everything that has happened to her.
