MADRID, Spain.- In the effervescent Cuba of the 1950s, an iconic figure of French song landed on the Island, taking with him his melancholy and his unique voice. Edith Piaf, known as the Sad Sparrow of Paris, made her entrance into Havana, a city then known as “the Paris of America,” for the first time in 1956.
The arrival of Edith Piaf in Havana was an event that unleashed emotion and expectation among music fans. On her first visit to the Island she performed at the emblematic, now defunct, Sans Souci cabaret, where the singer, dressed in a simple black suit, captivated the audience with her unique voice. Although her Spanish was limited, she Piaf managed to convey the emotion and passion of songs like “La vida en rosa” and “Under the sky of Paris,” connecting deeply with the Cuban audience.
In a time marked by the presence of great French artists in Havana, such as Josephine Baker, Martine Carol and Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf stood out for her unique style and profound expressiveness.
Edith Piaf’s second visit to Havana, in January 1957, prolonged her impact on the cultural scene in the country. Despite the misfortunes and adversities that marked her life, Piaf remained an unstoppable force in the world of music. On this second visit she was received at the capital airport by prominent figures such as Ramón Sabat, president of the Panart record company, and Mario García, social manager of the Montmartre cabaret. Precisely in this nightclub in El Vedado was where she made her presentations, for several nights.
“For the common public, the main adornment of an artist should be jewelry. Where are those of this star who is paid the highest salaries in the world? The viewer who is seeing it for the first time does not quite understand that humble clothing. The lady who knows luxury pities her because not a single precious stone shines on her fingers or in her ears. There has been a palpable silence in the room. What forces the public to this silence? “It is the voice of Edith Piaf,” the magazine reported. Bohemia about his performance.
Born in Belleville, a working-class neighborhood in Paris, Piaf emerged from the city streets. Her childhood was plagued with hardship and surrounded by the bohemian atmosphere of nightclubs, where her father worked as a contortionist and her mother struggled to make a living singing in the streets.
His musical career took off in the 1930s, and he soon became an unmistakable voice. She was discovered by the famous cabaret Le Gerny and quickly gained popularity for her unique and emotional style. Piaf not only sang, but she performed each song with an intensity that moved those who heard it.
As her fame spread beyond French borders, Edith Piaf became an iconic figure on the international stage.
However, Piaf’s personal life was marked by tragedies and challenges, including losing a daughter to meningitis, when the little girl was two years old and she was 18. She had had the girl with her first love, Louis Dupont. Many years later, her husband, boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash.
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2024-02-18 04:01:43
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