Leyanis Lopez

Leyanis López Luque was born in Guantanámo on the 8th of October 1971. She started out at the age of seven as a member of the Guantanámo province Fabio Rosell del Rio Primary School choir, directed by the art instructor Miguel Angel Durán. Her natural gift for singing soon singled her out and she became a solo singer for different musical groups within the Pioneers organisation. During all this period, she performed in various cultural events on a local, provincial and national level. From 1980 onwards, she constantly participated in José Marti tribute youth festivals, Pioneers Trova festivals and summer festivals organised nationally, allowing her to perfect her artistic qualities. She won many awards: from 1981 to 1983, she obtained special awards and prizes, gaining recognition on the highest level from governmental and non-governmental organisations. In 1984, she was a cultural representative at the forum of the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC), a non-governmental organisation, held in La Havana with the participation of different countries from the region. In 1985, accompanied by the excellent "Ismaelillo" group, she won first prize in the Summer Festival, having enjoyed efficient support from her teacher Mariá Balón and lessons from Angel Savón, an arts instructor. In 1986, she took her first trip abroad, representing Cuba at the International Festival of Amateur Artists organised in Hungary in July, then touring the German Federal Republic and Czechoslovakia. In 1988, she was ranked in the highest category of amateur artists. Her career as a professional singer began in 1989 when she performed at different guitar trio festivals, at the "Boleros de Oro" Festival and at the Rafael Inciarte Brioso Festival of Popular Music. She gave concerts as a singer with orchestras or trios in theatres, community arts centres and open-air events in parks, going on tours throughout the country and appearing on the radio and television in Guantanámo and other provinces. She also recorded at the EGREM studios in Santiago de Cuba for the CMQ International channel and Japanese television. In 1994, she was ranked in the higher category of professional singers. She then studied singing at the Guantanámo Further Training Centre for Professional Artists. In 1995, she was awarded her singing-category intermediate-level diploma with distinction. In 1998, she recorded her first CD for the French label Lusafrica. Her repertoire, which includes different types of popular music, boléro, canción, waltz, güajira and Cuban son, allows us to appreciate the impact of more complex music on popular music since the beginning of the century in Eastern Cuba, as well as the influence of fifties music. It also adopts present-day innovations in terms of harmonies and tones.