Cuban singer Omara Portuondo announced her retirement from the stage after the episode of “fatigue and disorientation” she suffered this Thursday during a concert at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, which prevented her from continuing to occur after the first song. Maybe, maybe. His son and representative, Ariel Jiménez Portuondo, explained in a statement that the artist “is doing well” and under “the supervision” of the personal doctor who has been with them for more than twenty years.
The performer’s final farewells will take place this Sunday, October 6 in Budapest, during the recital with which the orchestra and the public will “pay homage” to him. “On this occasion he will not sing, he will receive love and applause,” he said. From there, she will continue “to rehearse and record from home” or participate in meetings with which her supporters “want to entertain her only to the extent that her health and condition indicate.”
Omara Portuondo will be 94 years old this month. “To deprive her of the possibility of singing, as long as she has the spirit, the vocal conditions and the strength, would be to condemn her to sadness,” explained her son.
The concert that the Cuban singer had to abandon in Barcelona is part of the cycle of four recitals in which she remembers the Buena Vista Social Club and other great figures. He arrived in Barcelona after traveling through Colombia and Gran Canaria. The Faile Orchestra continued to play despite the departure of the artist, whose “professionalism and quality” were also praised by his son. “We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may have caused,” he added.
“Abuse and exploitation of an elderly person”
The singer Mayte Martín was one of the people who attended Omara Portuondo’s show this Wednesday and described what happened, through her Instagram account, as a “situation of abuse and exploitation towards a elderly person who was completely disoriented and who was in no condition to go out.” scene nor aware of where he was. “She is a goddess who gave glorious moments to music, and we owe her a respect that was sorely lacking last night,” he criticized.
The composer also said that “the ethics and dignity of a sick and vulnerable person” were violated and that “a 93-year-old human being was exposed to a degrading situation.” He said the recital was “perfectly prepared to distract the audience and make them look away from the stage”, where there was a performance of “a member of the orchestra singing peanuts and handing out cornets to people”.
A gesture that Mayte Martín described as an “ideal mistake of taking Omara out in the dark” without her realizing it and sitting her on a chair in which she remained motionless and without control of her body, which she couldn’t even stand in the seat. “. The singer said that previously the Cuban artist “couldn’t stop shaking”: “She made a gesture of denial every time a member of the orchestra put the microphone in her mouth so that she can continue to sing.”
Mayte Martín’s reaction was to get up from her seat and shout “attackers!” to the team, from which they responded that Omara wanted to “die on stage”. “Of course he wants to, like all of us who live to sing. But aware of what he is and what he does. Not sick and manipulated like a doll, but with the respect of those around her and with the dignity,” she affirmed, “the same that every vulnerable person in this world deserves, that it is our duty to protect.”
