Soledad Bravo
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| Soledad Bravo | |
 Soledad Bravo in the cover of the 1992 album Con Amor...Boleros
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| Born | 1943 Logroño, Spain |
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Soledad Bravo is a Venezuelan singer.
Soledad Bravo was born in Logroño, Spain in 1943. But at an early age, this daughter of a republican father had to leave Europe & with her family moved to Venezuela to lead a brand new life and discover a culture of tropical flavours.
In 1967, started to study Architecture, Psychology and Literature and the Central university of Venezuela. When she was still studying, she began to sing and interpret Garcia Lorca's "Amor de don Perilimplin con Belisa en su jardin". Very impressed by her performance, Sofia Imber, an influential Venezuelan journalist, gave her the opportunity to appear every morning in a TV show called "Buenos Dias". That's the reason why Soledad became a cult singer.. and the rising Star Venezuela was waiting for.
In 1968 Soledad recorded her debut album "Soledad Bravo Canta". It was immediately successful. Soledad was able to accentuate her success through an important national tour, discovering, town after town, her new public...
Between 1969 and 1971, Soledad recorded two albums of popular and traditional South American songs. She included material by Atahualpa Yupanqui, Violeta Parra, Daniel Viglietti, Vinicius de Moraes, Baden Powell de Aquino, Alfredo Zitarrosa and Joan Manuel Serrat. Here and there, people started to label her as "committed". She still replies, imperturbable, that she only sings what her heart tells her to do...
Between 1972 and 1975, after the release of an amazing doble live album,"Soledad Bravo en Vivo", Soledad attend the Agua Dulce Popular Festival in Lima (Peru). It was a real consecration! Her young legend flew over frontiers...
Between 1976 and 1977, Soledad went to perform in Spain. She appeared on national TV with the very brilliant flamenco guitarist Manolo Sanlucar. The Spanish public gave her a warm and passionate welcome. Deeply moved, Soledad decided to stay and work there for four years.
She sang and recorded (between Rome and Madrid) some of the finest Rafael Alberti's poems. Alberti took part of the project and joined her studio! More than a record: a page in the history of literature was written with music!
Let's say that the rest is pure success and inspired eclecticism. In 1979, she gave a breathtaking performance in the Theatre de La ville of Paris, France. In 1980, she recorded a collection of old Jewish songs from Andalucia ("Cantos Sefardies"). Rave reviews from an international following greeted that work. In 1981, Soledad changed her repertoire, discovering the essence of 'tropical' rhythm and songs. In New York, she recorded an album of caribbean material produced by great Willie Colon...A page has been turned. And still today - with virtuosity, feeling and success - Soledad explore that universe of sunny and swinging refrains.
In 1997, she's well-known in France, for the Carlos Puebla's song of "Hasta Siempre" (A Cuban hymn to Che Guevera that she recorded in 1968 in Caracas). 30 years later, that version climbed up the French charts and sold more than 50.000 copies.
This Latin Diva have been recorded more than 30 albums and is a truly established Star ("an institution!" would correct the Venezuelans). She sang all around the world (Costa Rica, Holland, Germany, France, Spain, U.S...), proposing traditional selections, leaving sometimes her guitar and her cuatro to perform a thrilling mixture of salsa and more lively refrains (always acclaimed with enthusiasm)! She played and worked with, among others, Chico Buarque, Willie Colon, Gilberto Gil, Pablo Milanes, Ray Barretto, Manolo Sanlucar, Joaquin Sabina, Milton Nascimento, Paquito D'Rivera, Mikis Theodorakis, Paco Ibanez, Ruben Blades, Silvio Rodriguez... Soledad Bravo is the only Latin singer able to go from one style to another, epitomizing the fusion of beautiful poetry and unique singing in an extraordinarily varied programme of canciones Latino-americana (from Argentinian tango to Mexican bolero, from ranchera to guaguanco, son, golpe, guajira, milonga or afro-jazz...)
Soledad Bravo is one of the best female singers in central and southern American territory. Her fresh but intense vocal timbre on these recordings is immeasurably moving. "She's acclaimed round the world-and understandably so-as the worthy successor and the ambassadress of the most authentic tradition of the Latin-American singing."
