Freddy, the Cuban legend

Η Fredesvinda Garcia Herrera ή απλά Freddy ήταν ένα αστέρι που έλαμψε εκτυφλωτικά, τουλάχιστον στην Κούβα, αλλά έσβησε μόλις 26 ετών, στις 31 Ιουλίου του 1961.

Η φωνή της ήταν απλά συγκλονιστική.

Στο Cubanow.net, γράφει για τη Freddy η Maria del Carmen Mestas :

Her name was Fredesvinda Garcia, born in l933 in the town of Cespedes, in Camagüey. These may be the only precise facts about this woman, whose life was surrounded by endless mystery. Near and distant at the same time, Freddy, as everybody called her, is today one of the greatest myths of Cuban music.

Along with her 305 pounds and a little wooden suitcase, with some of her personal belongings, she traveled to Havana. From the train station, she walked directly to the Prado promenade, where a street photographer took a picture of her right in front of the Capitol. She stopped at every shop window of the exclusive Galiano stores and admired the mannequins. Finally, she lodged herself in a small rented room. "Tomorrow will be another day", she said to herself, knowing that she had to go out and look for work.

And she found it through the classified ads of El País newspaper. "Cook needed". And there she went. It was the Bengochea family, and everyone in the house enjoyed the specially seasoned dishes Freddy cooked. "These are delights", the owner of the house happily exclaimed.

But Freddy didn’t care fot that praise, she was unsatisfied because she had not yet fulfilled the object of her trip: to become a great singing star. Then, someone told her about the Celeste Bar, on Humboldt and Infanta Streets, a place where artists used to meet.

Shy at first, she began singing to an astonished audience. Like nobody else could, she sang bolerones, heavy boleros full of love stories. She interpreted them with great sadness from the soul, as if she were singing about her own pain.

Η συνέχεια στο cubanow.

Πασχαλινό δώρο:
το Tengo, ηχογραφημένο το 1960, με την ορχήστρα του Humberto Suarez.