Fredesvinda García

Who was Fredesvinda García?

Fredesvinda García Valdés, known always as Freddy, was a Cuban female singer of high quality. She was born in Céspedes, a small village in the Camagüey Province of Cuba from a poor peasant family. She sang a cappella in clubs in Havana and recorded only one album before her death from a heart attack. Her weight gave a very distinctive, androgynous sound to her voice. She was, almost entirely, a singer of boleros and canciones.

When she moved Havana, aged 12, she became a cook for the Bengochea family but soon she found herself singing nights at the Bar Celeste, on Humboldt and Infanta Streets, a place where artists used to meet. She was spotted by the director of the Hotel Capri's casino, and given a contract. She opened at the Cabaret Capri with orchestration by Rafael Somavilla, in the review Piminta y Sal with other singers, dancers and a quartet led by pianist Carlos Faxas. Freddy appeared in several key TV programs, like Jueves de Partagas, which she remembered dearly. On that show she appeared with Benny Moré and Celia Cruz.