AREQUIPA, Peru – The popular Cuban singer, María Elena Pena, died early this Sunday in Havana at the age of 75 as a result of a “painful illness,” according to the Cuban Institute of Music (ICM).
Through a note on Facebookthe cultural entity said it presented condolences to the family and friends of the artist, who during her life was known inside and outside the Island as “The Lady of the Bolero.”
Born on May 4, 1949, María Elena Pena began her professional career when she was just a teenager, in 1963, although from a very young age she presented herself as an amateur.
“He is remembered for his presentations on that popular television program Buenas Tardes, Juntos a las Nueve, back in the 1970s, the Galas of the Adolfo Guzmán Contest, OTI, among other important presentations in the media,” he reviews. the ICM.
As part of her training, she was a student of the Mexican professor Alfonso Arau at the National School of Art, receiving classes in dance, pantomime, singing and acting, as well as music theory and theory with the teacher Severino Ramos.
In 1967 he began as a singer in Franco Laganá’s Combo, working in nightclubs, radio and televisionperforming Cuban and international songs, samba, ballads, ranchera, son, and especially bolero.
Pena represented Cuba in international festivals and events, in addition to performing on stages in Spain, Mexico, the United States, Italy, among others.
Throughout his career he won several awards, including the Grand Prize of the Adolfo Guzmán Contest, Grand Prize of the Chany Chelacy Festival and the ACE Prize (Association of Chroniclers and Entertainment) in USAyear 2022.
María Elena Pena was also awarded the Distinction for National Culture and the Raúl Gómez García Distinction among many other recognitions.
