Cuban singer-songwriter Pablo Milanes dies at 79
- The ‘Yolanda’ singer toured the world as a cultural ambassador for Fidel Castro’s revolution and helped found Cuba’s ‘nueva trova’ movement
- He died in Spain, where he had been undergoing treatment for blood cancer. Cuba’s prime minister said the country’s culture was ‘in mourning’
Pablo Milanes, the Latin Grammy-winning balladeer who helped found Cuba’s nueva trova movement and toured the world as a cultural ambassador for Fidel Castro’s revolution, has died in Spain, where he had been undergoing treatment for blood cancer. He was 79.
One of the most internationally famous Cuban singer-songwriters, he recorded dozens of albums and hits like “Yolanda,” “Yo Me Quedo” (I’m Staying) and “Amo Esta Isla” (I Love This Island) during a career that lasted more than five decades.
“The culture in Cuba is in mourning for the death of Pablo Milanes,” Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz tweeted on Monday night.
Milanes’ representatives issued a statement saying he had died early on Tuesday in Madrid. In early November, he announced he was being hospitalised and cancelled concerts.
Pablo Milanes was born on February 24, 1943, in the eastern city of Bayamo, in what was then Oriente province, the youngest of five siblings born to working-class parents. His musical career began with him singing in, and often winning, local television and radio contests.
