The legendary Cuban singer Omara Portuondo, 93, had to be carried off stage tonight in the arms of two members of her orchestra during a festival in Barcelona when she found herself disoriented at the beginning of her performance. The artist, who opened the Cruïlla Tardor 2024 festival at the Palau de la Música with her concert, could only start the beginning of her song black tears before remaining silent to the stupefaction of the audience. The evening ended with dozens of formal complaints filed by those attending the Portuondo concert. The Cuban diva, who had planned to pay tribute to the legendary Cuban group Buena Vista Social Club, at the start of the festival, appeared visibly disoriented when she came out on stage.
The Failde Orchestra, which was to accompany Portuondo during the night, announced the concert as “a trip to the music of yesterday,” with a repertoire of Cuban classics such as Chan chan, It has flavor, Where were you? and The Manicure. After half a dozen songs by the band, Portuondo took the stage sitting on a chair, amidst applause from the audience cheering “Queen Omara.”
The expectation has transformed into disbelief, when the singer only managed to accompany the orchestra with a small part of the song’s chorus Black Tearss, and remained silent even though the orchestra continued playing. After several unsuccessful attempts by the musicians to get her to resume her performance, Portuondo has only managed to sing the verse “with you I am leaving my saint, even if it costs me to die”, and has finally been carried away in the arms of two members of the orchestra, again, amid applause from the public.
During the sequence of what was supposed to be the singer’s last farewell concert on Spanish stages, cries of “exploiters” and “let her rest” were heard, before which Ethiel Failde, director of the orchestra, She had to intervene, stating that the screams were “a lack of respect for a legend, when she herself was the one who asked to sing” and that “Omara has always said that she wants to die on stage.”
Dozens of spectators who decided to leave before the end of the concert finally gathered at the doors of the Palau de la Música to ask for a refund of the value of the tickets, which in some cases reached 75 euros. They have also submitted dozens of claim forms to the event organizers. “Many people bought the tickets just to see Omara Portuondo, although the orchestra insisted a lot that she sing, the audience perceived what happened a bit as an abuse, she looked very anxious, moving her legs and with a lost gaze” said Rosario Dorantes, one of the attendees.
