SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, Mexico.- The talented composer, guitarist and music critic Marta Valdes He died this Thursday, October 3, at the age of 90 in Havana, according to reports in the Cuban press and official media.
Valdés left for posterity iconic songs of his authorship such as “Palabras”, “It is not precise”, “José Jacinto”, “In the imagination”, “Canción simple”, “Tú no suspicions”, sung by various musicians, such as Vicentico Valdés, Elena Burke, Bola de Nieve, Cheo Feliciano, Fernando Álvarez, Pablo Milanés, among others.
According to the note official of the Cuban Institute of Music, the composer’s body will be cremated, by family decision, and in the next few hours there will be information about the tribute that will be paid to her on the Island.
“Her exquisite artistic sensitivity, her poetic words and her great musical talent made her an outstanding figure of the second generation of filin, a bridge between the founding masters of the genre and the singer-songwriters of the Nueva Trova Movement, who respected her and recognized her as a essential reference”, highlighted the note from the cultural institution.
For his part, José María Vitier wrote on his social networks, upon learning of the tragedy: “Today our Marta Valdés has passed away. Extraordinary musical author and lucid defender of our culture. Those of us who had the privilege of his friendship will never forget the treasure of his songs, his intellectual honesty and his height as a human being.”
Born in Havana in 1934, Valdés began studying guitar when she was 11 years old. Later, he studied Philosophy and Letters at the University of Havana and began his professional career in 1955, with the composition of the bolero “Palabras.”
Marta Valdés became the most outstanding figure of a second generation of the filin movement. He debuted on radio in 1958, as a performer of his songs, and in 1959, on television.
He studied theory and music theory with several Cuban teachers and in 1963 he joined the courses of the Popular Music Seminar, directed by the pianist and musicologist Odilio Urfé.
Boleros, sones, criollas, habaneras and music for theater and television reflect his fruitful artistic career. She also worked as a musical advisor for the Teatro Estudio Group and participated, in 1967, in the Protest Song Meeting, at the Casa de las Américas.
In 2007 he received the National Music Award and the Pablo awards, from the Pablo de la Torriente Brau Center, Cubadisco and Maestro de Juventudes, from the Hermanos Saíz Association.
