Merceditas Valdés

b. 14 October 1928, Havana, Cuba, d. June 1996, Cuba. At the age of 12 Valdés sang in a competition and won an award. Before long she was heard regularly on radio and in live performances, sometimes in church. She often performed yoruba and attracted favourable attention for this and for singing other material within the tradition of Cuban folk music. She built a good following and arising from this was invited by historian Fernando Ortiz to participate in his lecture tours during which he expounded upon Cuban music's African origins. This led in time to Valdés becoming a lead...