Pablo Milanés loved Peru: the dark concert in Villa el Salvador, his friendship with Tania Libertad and more

“If you ask me how I want to die, I would say that on a stage”, he said repeatedly Pablo Milanes. His final wish was not fulfilled to the letter, since the Cuban singer-songwriter died on November 21 in a hospital in Madrid at the age of 79, but the impetus to continue singing until the end was given in spirit: not to had he left, he would have sung in his already scheduled shows in Mexico City and Santo Domingo.

His place as founder of Nueva Trova led Milanés, along with Silvio Rodríguez and Noel Nicola, to share his music around the globe, playing from the smallest clubs to the biggest stages. A frequent stop for his art was Peru, a country to which he was united not only by the warmth of the public, but also by friendship.

It was his great friend, the poet and composer, César Calvo, who convinced him to play for the first time in our country back in April 1985 at the legendary rock La Capilla del jirón Lampa in downtown Lima. More than a recital, it was a meeting between friends, in which Milanés along with other guests such as Calvo himself, Filomeno Ballumbrosio, Félix Casaverde and Miki González, took turns playing for those present.

Peru had to wait a year for the first official concert given by Pablo Milanés, which took place in April 1986 when the Cuban singer-songwriter was one of the guests at the Latin American Cultural Integration Week (SICLA), a multicultural and multidisciplinary event during the first government of Alan García who He also managed to visit other musical giants such as Silvio Rodríguez, Mercedes Sosa, León Gieco, Vicente Feliú, Rubén Rada and a young Fito Páez.

During SICLA, Milanés sang on various stages in the capital of Lima, but his most remembered concert It happened in the sandbanks of Villa el Salvador with Silvio Rodríguez, a recital that was held in the dark due to the lack of electricity at that time.

Since then, the Cuban troubadour has visited us dozens of times, also participating in events such as the historic Home Fair in 1999. In 2001 he showed his love for our country by participating, together with the Argentines Mercedes Sosa and Víctor Heredia, titled ” All bloods and cultures: homage to Peru”.

The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) was also the venue for several of his most memorable recitals, being the space where he shared the stage with his Spanish counterpart Víctor Manuel in November 1995 and with Joaquín Sabina in October 1996. The sports center of the PUCP was also the place where he held his last concert in Peru, done as part of his “Esencia” tour, on April 9, 2019.

Old friends

Although the poet César Calvo was the best-known Peruvian friend of Pablo Milanés, he was far from the only one and the story of his first meeting with the Peruvian singer-songwriter Chabuca Granda, whom he described as “a glory of America” ​​is already well known. . It is notable that the admiration was mutual and César Calvo, a close friend of both, revealed to Milanés that the singer of “La flor y la canela” had a photo of him on her piano

“I met her in an amazing place”, indicated Milanés in an interview with Trade in 2019.”I was doing a recital in a small room in Mexico in 1978. When I finished, a lady came and told me: ‘You know I admire you very much. I am a composer. I don’t know if you know me. My name is Chabuca Granda’. So I knelt down, kissed her hand and said: ‘You are a glory of America’.”

This relationship was highlighted when Milanés joined other Latin American musicians such as Juan Diego Flórez, Carlos Vives, Antonio Zambujo and Armando Manzanero to collaborate on the tribute album “A Chabuca 2” in which he sang the song “La torre de ivory”.

Among the friends of Pablo Milanés, one cannot forget the Peruvian singer-songwriter Tania Libertad, with whom he released the unforgettable single “El primer amor”. In communication with this dailythe artist considered the author of “Yolanda” as “one of the greatest Spanish-speaking composers of popular music”, also highlighting his ability and expertise for the interpretation of his songs. “He was a master in every sense of the word”, he narrowed.

Tania Libertad revealed that He met Pablo Milanés for the first time in 1976, when he traveled to a festival in Cuba that allowed him to come into contact with many of the most representative figures of the island’s music. This friendship relationship continued in the 1980s, when Libertad moved to Mexico, a country where he had the opportunity to play together on several occasions, giving rise to the idea of ​​doing a duet for his album “Trovadicción” (1987).

“We did not imagine that this song was going to be so successful, especially in Cuba, because the youth adopted it and it was in the first places of preferences for about a year.”, recalled the artist. “I am very grateful to him for giving me that song and also for singing it with me..”

The relationship of trust was such that on occasions Tania Libertad was in charge of taking care of the daughters of Pablo Milanés when the composer visited Mexico, pointing out that she was lucky enough to meet Haydée Milanés from a young age, now a renowned singer, who still calls her “aunt”.

“The last time we sang together was for a ‘streaming’ that I did here, the first one that was done when all the theaters were going to close due to the pandemic in April 2020″, he recalled. “I managed to talk to him on the phone and he sent me a video, and I sang the song ‘Para vivir’ with him on the video.”.

“There are many stories with my dear Pablo, because these moments are very difficult for me. Just remember it… I think we will always remember it. His work will continue to speak for him. And very, very sad that he left us“said Liberty. “Not only the great teacher left, not only the great singer, not only the great composer, but also a dear friend.”