Bárbara Zamora (1966) can comfortably interpret any genre. She loves filin and son, but danceable music is unquestionably her forte. Manzanillera by birth, she received classes with outstanding figures of the Cuban music scene, such as teachers Linda Mirabal, Zenaida Romeu and María Felicia Pérez.
Thirty years ago he graduated in Choral Direction at the Instituto Superior de Arte, today the University of the Arts (ISA). She immediately began working at the Rodrigo Prats Lyric Theater in Holguín, until Zenaida Romeu recommended her to Georgia Aguirre, who was looking for a singer for her orchestra. Thus, Bárbara Zamora would change her course.
“Belonging to the first female orchestra in Cuba for thirty years has evidently had an excellent impact on my career as a music professional. In Anacaona I was able to put into practice the knowledge I acquired from the elementary level of music to graduating from ISA. Anacaona was my great school: I learned to be a family, to consolidate friendship, as well as professional growth and respect for what is done and shown to the public. I will always thank Georgia Aguirre for the trust and respect of so many years, for her recognition of my contribution to said group, ”she comments to OnCuba.
After her experience with the Anacaona, Bárbara continued to sing. Her very personal style has been claimed by artists such as Teté Caturla, Haila Maria MompieIsaac Delgado, Waldo Mendoza, Manolito Simonet, the group Nuevas Estrellas de Areito and Yarima Blanco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdiMFqg6_Ho
His voice appears registered in more than forty productions, among them the rumba is meLatin Grammy Award (2001) and thanks to the Colibrí record label he managed to record my delivery, her first solo album, produced by the musician and guitarist Eduardo Sardiñas, whose songs are entirely authored by Bárbara. That phonogram was nominated for Cubadisco (2013), competing in the Song category with works performed by Beatriz Marquez and Miriam Ramos, among others.
In September 2022, he was seen at the Connecticut Salsa Festival together with Cita Rodríguez, daughter of the great sonero Peter Conde, and Victoria Sanabria, a highly admired singer from Puerto Rico. In the last edition of the most important disco party in Cuba, Bárbara Zamora participated as a guest artist in the material Cotó and its Changüisera Party, singing a changüí tribute to the great Chito Latamblet.
In Boston (Massachusetts), where he has lived for almost two years, he has not stopped making Cuban music, his great flag.
“Here I arrived invited to participate in recordings with musicians graduated from Berklee, and with the endorsement that I carry as an artist, work doors were opened for me as a guest in projects established in the city such as Clave and Blue by Aníbal Cruz, Sonmasslatin by Leo Blanco, among others, and the possibility of creating my own project accompanied by Berklee students interested in knowing and making Cuban music”.
In addition to appearing every week at places like La Fábrica, Doña Habana and Peka, in Boston, she will soon be one of the participants in the 50th edition of the Betances Festivalto be held on July 15.
The meeting will exalt the music of Puerto Rico and in its framework, once again, Bárbara will share the stage with the salsa singer José Alberto “El Canario”.
“It is an honor to be the only woman to put Cuban music in the top place it deserves at that event,” says Bárbara, who prefers not to talk about vicissitudes, even knowing how difficult it is to prevail in the music industry.
“Women have always had to work hard to prevail in a world in which men have had more support, especially in dance music, which is what I have represented. But I cannot speak of vicissitudes, only of the great commitment from my professionalism to stay in the musical arena with the respect of many who, even from a distance, promote my music and make space to talk about my career inside and outside of Anacaona”.
