At this year's festival, Omara Portuondo will sing songs from her forthcoming album Gracias, on which the grand old lady of Cuban music takes her listeners through her entire, powerful career. The emphasis is naturally on the "filin", an exotic blend of Afro-Cuban, Latin and vocal jazz, but her favorite song is there as well: the Chilean Gracias a la Vida - Thanks to Life. Omara Portuondo is one of the most colorful and famous singers in Cuba. For years she fronted the famous Cuban revue group Tropicana and the legendary Orquesta Aragon. And last but not least: she is the only woman of the old Buena Vista Social Club to enjoy worldwide fame through her melancholic yet swinging Cuban music. The singer, now well into her seventies, is justifiably a living legend. She sings of lost and tragic love with passion and a fitting quiver in her voice.
