HAVANA, Cuba -. The singer and actress Yudith Porto, considered one of the leading voices in the history of Cuban rap, has died in Spain.
Porto died after suffering a stroke during a concert, rapper El Funky said on Facebook.
“After a week connected to the equipment, she was disconnected yesterday. Yudith Porto (La Yuya), a legend of Cuban rap, known by the entire industry, suffered a stroke in the middle of a concert. She is flying high. My condolences to all her loved ones. Thank you for your contribution to the genre and your incredible voice that will remain forever,” said El Funky.
The artist was part of the rap trio Instinto, the first group in Cuba made up of women. Formed during the nineties, the trio achieved popularity at the now defunct Alamar Festivals, an event that served as a showcase and exposure for most of the island’s rap groups and had a significant international presence until they were censored by the Government.
The original members of the group were, apart from Porto, Doricep Agramonte and Yanet Díaz, who served as director.
The singer, who has lived in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for more than 20 years, performed as a soloist and with the group Mambisa in various regions of the Iberian country. The group fuses Canarian, Cuban and flamenco rhythms, a mix that has been well received during their performances.
Porto participated in 2023 in the album The stuff in Guanabacoa with the Canary Islands Jazz Orchestra. His work on this material was recognized by specialized critics.
“The songs on the album are linked in the sequence of a Big Band, a musical format in which the composer comfortably expresses the harmonies that constantly haunt him and attends to his muses from the freedom of the couch of dreams. On this occasion, the breath of inspiration has exhaled a message to accompany the orchestration, its destiny falling on a woman, who since her migration and roots in our land is supported to give voice, lyrics and song to this great Big Band: we refer to the Cuban singer and lyricist Yudith Porto,” said the composer. Weather in Tenerife.
“Her role in this album goes beyond the typical leading role of a female singer accompanied by a singer; her lyrics are educational, committed and with a clear call to reflection and awareness for the care of our land, the contribution of women to the culture and values of society, social protest and of course love and joy,” added the digital media.
“I just learned of the passing of one of the best voices in the history of Cuban rap, an incredible person, a beautiful and charismatic woman, an artist like few others, always smiling, a multifaceted artist, with an incredible and powerful voice that captivated us every time she came on stage,” wrote Sáenz.
A Cuban rap researcher, who asked to remain anonymous, told Cubanet that those from Instinct “were the first intellectuals I saw defend their Afro-descendant essence and delve into the work of women in rap.”
“These criteria are what largely made the Afro-feminist struggle in Cuba in the 1990s and Cuban rap visible,” she added.
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2024-07-15 09:27:16
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