YURIS NORIDO

August 7

 cultura@trabaja.cip.cu

Ibrahim Ferrer, one the best known singers of traditional Cuban music will be buried Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Havana’s Colon Cemetery.

 Ferrer, died Saturday at the age of 78, after a sudden worsening of his health. Only a few days before he had returned from a European tour where he promoted his romantic boleros from a recent CD.

Hundreds of relatives, friends and admirers of the singer converged on the funeral parlor Sunday afternoon. The death of Ferrer deeply moved many Cuban musicians who had in him more than a colleague, a true friend.

 In declarations to the local and international press, other Cuban musical giants of the likes of Chucho Valdes, Juan Formell and Jose Loyola praised the personal qualities of the deceased artist.

Beyond Cuba’s borders, respect is being paid Ferrer by cultural figures in France, Spain and several countries on the American continent.

The mainstream European press dedicated ample coverage to the death of the famous Cuban singer, outlining his long artistic career. Television news programs in Spain and Russia included special reports on Ferrer’s life.

In several Latin American countries, where he performed on many occasions, including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, the death of Ferrer was front page news and was accompanied by numerous expressions of grief.

 Since his joining the famous Buena Vista Social Club in 1997, Ferrer became one the best ambassadors of Cuban music, performing on tours in Europe, Asia, Australia, and America, where he sung at Carnegie Hall in New York.

 Ferrer’s award winning recordings included the “Buena Vista Social Club album in 1999 and he also appeared in the highly acclaimed Wim Wenders film with the same name.

His other Grammy award winning albums included “Buenos Hermanos” and “Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer.”  He also received recognition from Billboard Latino in the US and the Mobo awards from the United Kingdom.

 Born to Sing

 Ferrer’s life was marked by music from the time of his birth in a dance hall in Santiago de Cuba, birthplace of “son.” By the time he was 14, he was already earning a living singing with popular bands playing traditional Cuban music. Ferrer sung as a guest with some of the most prestigious groups of the 1940s and 50s including the Chepin orchestra and the bands of Benny More and Pacho Alonso.

 While Ibrahim Ferrer was always among the top Cuban “son” singers his music embraced several other genres and especially bolero.

In the 1980s he ceased to perform and didn’t partake in any musical project until he made a comeback with the Afro Cuban All-Stars and participated in the famous Buena Vista Social Club recording.

 Buena Vista was a rebirth for Ferrer alongside other greats of Cuban traditional music, like him retired or semi-retired. They traveled the world playing classics of the island’s music. Then came more recordings, the forming of his own orchestra and further tours around the world.

Everywhere he performed he had a captive audience. He was the owner of a beautiful and distinct voice, both warm and melodic. However, most impressive about him was his charisma and stage presence, his natural elegance and the inspiration he put into each song.

 Ibrahim Ferrer was acclaimed in the big capitals around the globe, but he continued to be the same modest Cuban; the good man of the smile and the beret. That’s how he left us and that’s how Cuba will remember him.

(Trabajadores August  10,  2005)