Havana/Zenaida Armenteros Calvo, recognized as the Ayagba – “The Queen”, in Yoruba language – of Afro -Cuban culture, died this Sunday in Havana at age 94. First dancer, singer, actress, teacher and founder of the National Folkloric team of Cuba, Armenteros was one of the most relevant figures of the Cuban artistic scene of the twentieth century. His legacy transferred borders and earned him the National Dance Award in 2005, as well as the applause of audiences from more than fifty countries.
He was born on January 10, 1931 in the Barrio de Carraguao, on Habanero hill. As a child he showed a natural inclination towards song and dance, although he had to combine it with domestic responsibilities and the hardness of everyday life. He failed to complete primary studies, but from that childhood he took a rich cultural memory that would become the raw material of his art, with the vocation to make visible the African roots of Cuban identity.
His artistic career began in 1946, with just 15 years. He debuted on the radio and soon ventured into television, theater, cabaret and cinema. She was a student of great teachers such as Obdulio Morales, Luisa Barroso, Nieves Fresneda, Ramiro Guerra and Santiago Alfonso, who helped to polish their innate talent and make her an integral artist.
In 1962, Armenteros was one of the founders of the National Folkloric team of Cuba, an institution that would become his artistic house for decades. There he assumed the main roles as the first dancer, actress and singer, and won the respect of colleagues and spectators. On stage he played numerous Orishas of the Yoruba pantheon, although its characterization of Oyá – the deity of the wind and the storms – is especially remembered by its strength and veracity.
His work was marked by faithfulness to dance and deep respect for the roots he represented
Throughout his career he participated in more than thirty works of the national folk repertoire and took Afro -Cuban music and dance to scenarios in America, Europe and Asia. His international projection earned him recognition in France, Italy, England and Peru. Beyond the tables, she was a passionate teacher, a regular professor in the summer courses of the Danza Faculty of the Higher Institute of Art (ISA), where she contributed to forming new generations of artists inside and outside Cuba.
His scenic presence was described by critics as majestic and deeply spiritual. The Cuban musicographer Rosa Marquetti dismissed her with these words: “Voice and dance body blessed with the genius for them Orishas To those who sang and danced with the veracity, talent and elegance that made it what it is and will be forever: transcendent woman in Cuban culture, favorite daughter of our ancestors, their voices and their guide, guardian of strength and beauty. Rest in peace and glory. ”
His work was marked by fidelity to dance and deep respect for the roots he represented. In each step, in each gesture, in each note of its song, Armenteros convened the collective memory of the enslaved, of the anonymous musicians, of the drums that arrived from Africa. That tension between stylistic rigor and emotional delivery made it an unrepeatable artist, at the same time disciplined and inspired, capable of turning the stage into a ritual space.
