FILE – Cuban singer-entertainer Juana Bacallao, or “Juana La Cubana”, performs on the “One-Eyed Cat” cafe in Havana, Cuba, Might 22, 2010. Bacallao, who till lately continued performing and making displays on Cuban levels, died on Saturday, Feb. 24,2024, reported the island’s Ministry of Tradition. She was 98 years previous. (AP Photograph/Javier Galeano, File)
HAVANA (AP) — Juana Bacallao, a famend Cuban singer and cabaret diva who nonetheless carried out till lately, has died. She was 98.
Bacallao died Saturday after spending a number of days at a hospital in Havana, in accordance with a press release from Cuba’s Ministry of Tradition. Officers didn’t say why she was hospitalized.
Bacallao was recognized for her husky voice, risque persona and being unpredictable, clad in wigs and indulgent costumes. She carried out on the famed Tropicana membership within the Forties and ’50s and sang alongside artists like Nat King Cole.
“I’ll by no means retire. I’ll solely cease as soon as demise has come for me,” she stated in a 2010 interview with The Related Press.
Born Neri Amelia Martínez Salazar, she was despatched to a Catholic boarding college after turning into orphaned at 6 years previous.
She was found as a young person whereas singing as she cleaned properties and was given the moniker “Juana Bacallao,” turning into a sensation in Cuba’s cabaret scene.
Bacallao carried out with stars, together with singer and pianist Bola de Nieve, percussionist Chano Pozo and singer Benny Moré.
“I do know what life is — each poverty and wealth,” Bacallao informed the AP greater than a decade in the past. “That is my land. It’s the place I used to be born, and it’s the place I’ll die.”
