My first memory is listening to music on the radio with my family, my father asking me to sing La bayamesa, from Ernesto Grenet and Sindo Garay.
My mother married a baseball player who was the son of a slave, despite being from a wealthy Spanish family, so she was very head strong and put her love in the most important place, against all around her and above everything.
The greatest gift I ever received is the love of my parents. They also supported us and despite the lack of money and sources, gave us a happy life.
When I was 17, I was dancing at Café Tropicana, when I met César Portillo de la Luz. Then start playing with Cuarteto d’Aida meeting a lot of great artists such as Nat King Cole.
The hardest thing I’ve had to overcome is the distance from those I love, the solitude and loss of great friends.
I’ve learnt that…things don’t come easy, so you have to be strong, to love what you do and to keep doing what you love, to take life seriously but to laugh everyday.
I still get goose bumps when I step the stage. A couple of days ago, I played with my dear friend Chucho Valdés and Dianne Reeves at the San Francisco Jazz. It was an amazing night.
All questions are good, and you should always answer from your heart. Anger doesn’t solve anything. People should find a way to communicate and work to find solutions without anger. Music sometimes helps because it talks about so many different subjects, tells us so many stories and it unites people.
I haven’t thought about what song I’ll have played at my funeral… I’m really young to think about that!
Omara Portuonda will be performing at The Barbican on July 28. Tickets here
