Singer-songwriter.
Pablo Milanés was born on February 24, 1943 in Bayamo.
Pablo is one of the most representative voices of the Latin American song. He is one of the founders of the New Trova and is currently considered one of the most prolific singers and composers in Cuba. He has one of the best and more versatile voices of Cuban song from all times. His songs have traveled and are still traveling across the world in his voice and in different versions turning him into one of the most prominent Cuban artists at international level.
When he was only six years old, his mother, Conchita Arias, noticed that her son had a special sensitivity for music. She then bought him his first guitar and took him to the capital, Havana, where he would have more possibilities to study. Some years later, the singer would appreciate this gesture publicly on the dedication of his first record: "To my mother, who compelled me to sing".
His mother"s confiden
ce was essential for Pablo who, at 13 years of age, had his first group. However, his true professional career began in 1959, when he was 16 years old and joined the "Cuarteto del Rey" playing spirituals and blues. At the age of 19, he began performing with "Los Bucaneros" and, later on, already as a soloist, he dedicated himself to the romantic song and the jazz.
Some of his first interpretations led him to an important trend of Cuban song known as "feeling". His song entitled "Mis 22 años" has been considered by many as the most evident contact point between this trend and the new trova.
As composer, he has toured through the most diverse genres of the Cuban popular music. In 1968, he joined the Protest Song Center in Casa de las Américas. Likewise, he integrated the Sound Experimentation Group since its foundation until its last presentations. He studied composition, harmony, counterpoint and orchestration as disciple of Leo Brouwer, Federico Smith and Juan Elósegui.
Throughout these years, he also composed music for a number of feature films, some documentary films and television serials. He has performed in many countries from Europe, Africa and America.
His record brochure contains approximately thirty LP records, edited in America and Europe, with highly poetic phrases and melodies displaying an exceptional sensitivity.
Many artists have recorded his songs or have sung them with him in concerts or records, specially Silvio Rodríguez (Cuba), Joaquín Sabina (Spain), Soledad Bravo (Venezuela), Simone (Brazil), Tania Libertad (Peru), Manuel Mijares (Mexico), Amaya Uranga (Spain), Ana Belén (Spain), Lilia Vera (Venezuela), Caco Senante, Joan Manuel Serrat (Spain), Miguel Ríos (Spain), Raúl Torres (Cuba), Xiomara Laugart (Cuba), Anabel Rodríguez (Cuba).
