Díaz-Canel noted on his X account that Portuondo, known as the sweetheart of feeling and the diva of the Buena Vista Social Club, is “the voice of all generations because they all love you and follow you.”

“I hope you have a nice birthday, surrounded by the love of your family, which is all of Cuba,” the head of State wrote on the social network.

Omara Portuondo was born in Havana in 1930 and began her career in 1945 as a dancer at the famous Tropicana cabaret.

She is considered one of the great exponents of Cuban traditional music and, in addition to her voice, her Cubanness identifies her in each performance.

The renowned diva of the Buena Vista Social Club, a group that revived international interest in Cuban traditional music, was part of the select catalog of performers, along with Eliades Ochoa, Ibrahim Ferrer and Compay Segundo, who placed the Caribbean island in the world’s musical pentagram.

jg/arc/mks