After the health incident that took singer Omara Portoundo off the stage last night, her son and manager Ariel Jimenez Portuondo announced in a statement that the well-known Buena Vista Social Club diva, who is about to turn 94 years old, “will definitely retire from the stages”.
Her last performance will be in Budapest next Sunday, “where she will be honored by the orchestra and the audience,” the statement said.
“On this occasion Omara will not sing, she will receive affection and applause”, says Jiménez Portuondo, who says that afterwards the well-known singer will keep ”meetings with the public that wants to entertain her, only to the extent that her health and disposition indicate it. Her family and most loyal fans will understand that she will continue singing when she wants and how she feels, because she has earned that right”.
Wednesday night fatigue and disorientation
According to the statement, during the night of October 2, at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, and after performing the classic “Quizás quizás quizás”, by Osvaldo Farrés, Omara “showed signs of fatigue and disorientation” so “we considered it best to remove her from the stage”.
“Something like this can happen to any artist regardless of age,” adds Jiménez Portuondo.
It also states that the well-known performer was well “under the care and supervision of her personal doctor, who for more than 20 years has been accompanying her to any place in Cuba and the world where she performs”.
The news, released on Facebook, stresses that singing has been Omara Portuondo’s “way of life” and that “due to her age and health conditions, she no longer offers extensive concerts”, but that “to deprive her of the possibility of singing, as long as she has the courage, vocal conditions and strength, would be to condemn her to sadness”.
“The encounter with the public, the applause and the songs, keep her alive and in good spirits. Even, according to medical recommendations, the possibility of her continuing to sing, rehearse and record, contributes favorably to her mental health, although at a moderate pace and always according to her physical condition. For this purpose, he is periodically examined and his indicators are monitored”.
The note adds that “in order for her to remain active and receive the warmth of the public in countries and stages that are very dear to her” they had conceived together with Cuza Agency, and with the support of the Failde Orchestra, a tribute show to the Buena Vista Social Club and to those great artists who are no longer with us.
“She would appear to perform a few songs, from her condition of exceptional protagonist of that project and in the same way as she did with the original roster. Only four special presentations were organized, the only ones she would perform in the current year outside Cuba and with enough time between dates to take care of her rest. It was a great emotion to see her interact with thousands of spectators the past weeks in Colombia and Gran Canaria, where she received an injection of love”.
A life devoted to music
Portuondo received the 2005 Latin Music Award from the U.S. magazine Billboard, in the category of Best Tropical Album, for Flor de Amor, her second solo album, which sold more than 150,000 copies.
Years later, recalls Efe, she would become the first lady of the Buena Vista Social Club, when in 1996 the American guitarist Ry Cooder was recording in Havana the album that brought together a group of legends of traditional Cuban music.
In 2016 she made the European tour ’85 Tour’, to celebrate her 85 years, together with singer Diego ‘El Cigala’, which took them through countries such as Belgium, Germany, Spain, Poland, Hungary, United Kingdom, France, Portugal and Italy.
