María Teresa Vera 诞辰125周年Googles标志涂鸦标志

María Teresa Vera 诞辰 125 周年
2020年2月6日

Today’s Doodle honors the life and work of Cuban singer and guitarist María Teresa Vera, who also composed the nation’s rural folk song style, trova. Known as the Grande Dame of Cuban Music, she is widely regarded as one of the country’s most influential musicians.

Born on this day in 1895 in Guanajay, Cuba, Vera picked up the guitar at a young age after becoming a part of a bohemian community of trova musicians. Known as “troubadours,” the wandering street entertainers taught Vera how to compose trova songs and perform the genre’s poetic lyrical vocals together with the guitar. In 1911, Vera performed her first concert in Havana‘s Politeama Grande theater.

One of the first female voices of trova, Vera formed several successful duos and bands to perform original compositions along with her interpretations of other Cuban styles. Some of her songs became regular features on Havana’s radio stations, and her music helped to clear the path for the rise of popular Cuban music around the world in the 1930s and 40s. Throughout her career, she recorded close to two hundred songs, but those close to her say she could play more than a thousand.

Her lifetime accomplishments in music have a lasting impact and inspired a tribute album, “A María Teresa Vera” (“For María Teresa Vera”), a collection of songs recorded to celebrate her 100th birthday.