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Xiomara Alfaro

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Xiomara Alfaro
A young woman of color wearing a large white dress, sitting in a window well
Xiomara Alfaro as a young woman
BornMay 11, 1930
Havana, Cuba
DiedJune 24, 2018
Coral Gables, Florida
OccupationSinger

Xiomara Alfaro (May 11, 1930 – June 24, 2018[1]) was a Cuban coloratura soprano.[2] Her interpretation of Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona's "Siboney" was the composer's favorite.[2]

Early life

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Alfaro was born in Havana. She was a musical child, and won a contest for young singers sponsored by Radio Suaritos; she regularly appeared on Radio Suaritos broadcasts, which led to further opportunities. Her sister Olympia Alfaro was also known a singer.[3]

Career

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Alfaro was a star of the Cuban music scene of the 1950s.[4] She was in the original cast of Batamú (1951), a musical revue by Obdulio Morales. She became famous as a singer of bolero music, with a clear, strong soprano voice well suited to the genre.[5] She was known as "El Ruiseñor de la Cancion" (The Nightingale of Music) and as "La Alondra de la Cancion" (The Lark of Music).[5][6]

Alfaro's film appearances included a vocal performance alongside the Katherine Dunham dancers in Mambo (1954),[7][8] and a role in Olé…Cuba! (1957), which also featured fellow Afro-Cuban singer Celia Cruz.[9] She made more than two dozen recordings for RCA Records and other labels.[10]

"I'm a very spiritual person," she explained in a 2007 interview. "I try to transmit to my audience when I sing. God gave me a gift. And when God gives you something, you use it."[10]

Recordings

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  • Siboney (1957, with Chico O'Farrill and Ernesto Duarte)
  • Xiomara Alfaro en Nueva York (with Joe Cain y su Orquestra)
  • Xiomara Alfaro Sings International Flavors [11]
  • En Gira (1962)
  • Siboney: Lo Mejor de Xiomara A)lfaro Vol. 1 (2004)
  • Lamento Borincano: Lo Mejor de Xiomara Alfaro Vol. 2 (2007)
  • Aquellas Canciones (2009)
  • Xiomara Alfara, Cubana (2015 reissue)
  • Besos en mi Sueños (2015 reissue)
  • Perlas Cubanas (2015 reissue)

Personal life

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Alfaro was married to Panamanian pianist Rafael Benitez. She fled Cuba in 1960. She died in 2018, in Cape Coral, Florida, at the age of 88.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Fallece en Florida reconocida cantante cubana". elnuevoherald. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  2. ^ a b YouTube – "Lo que me dijo Xiomara"
  3. ^ Villepastour, Amanda (2016-01-19). The Yoruba God of Drumming: Transatlantic Perspectives on the Wood That Talks. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 226. ISBN 978-1-4968-0352-8.
  4. ^ "A Concert of Cuba". St. Petersburg Times, May 31, 2007. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b “Xiomara Alfaro: El Ruiseñor De La Cancion” « [El Blog Del Bolero]
  6. ^ Perez, Juan Carlos (1994-03-13). "El Ruíseñor Trina de Nuevo". El Nuevo Herald. pp. 53, 60. Retrieved 2023-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Durkin, Hannah (2019-08-16). Josephine Baker and Katherine Dunham: Dances in Literature and Cinema. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 978-0-252-05146-3.
  8. ^ Olupona, Jacob Kẹhinde; Rey, Terry (2008). Òrìşà Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 333. ISBN 978-0-299-22464-6.
  9. ^ Heredia, Juanita (2009-08-03). Transnational Latina Narratives in the Twenty-first Century: The Politics of Gender, Race, and Migrations. Springer. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-230-62325-5.
  10. ^ a b Cabrera, Cloe (2007-05-31). "'X' Marks the Spot". The Tampa Tribune. pp. 49, 51. Retrieved 2023-01-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Xiomara Alfaro, Xiomara Alfaro Sings International Flavors, Internet Archive, Jubilee, retrieved 2023-01-11
  12. ^ Cantor-Navas, Judy (2018-06-26). "Cuban Singer Xiomara Alfaro Dies at 88". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
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