Omara Portuondo

Critics describe Cuban singer Omara Portuondo’s voice as deep, sultry, expressive, compassionate and heavenly. And they’re not exaggerating, as evidenced by her latest album, Gracias, for which she won a Latin Grammy last year.

Omara Portuondo is back. Not that the 79-year-old Cuban songstress ever stopped
performing. She just hadn’t visited the States ever since the 9/11 attacks
triggered all sorts of regulations that made it impossible to obtain a visa.
Now, thanks to policy changes by the Obama administration, the Havana resident
has returned to a country she entertained many times in the ’90s as the sole
female member of the Buena Vista Social Club.