Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado
| Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
May 4, 1930 Camagüey, Cuba |
Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado (born Ana Margarita Martínez-Casado y Torralbas on May 4, 1930 in Camagüey, Cuba) is a well-known Cuban actress and singer.
Martinez-Casado was born into one of Cuba's theatrical families. That family started with her great-grandfather who owned a theater. His daughter Luisa has a theater in Cuba named after her. Martinez-Casado's grandparents, Manolo Martinez-Casado and Celia Adams were both actors, as were their eight children.
Ana Margarita's involvement with music entertainment did not begin until she was 12 years old. At this age, her mother wanted her to study piano with the thought that all girls needed some sort of talent. A distant cousin of the family taught music and lived nearby so young Ana was sent to her. Chance would have it that the cousin did not teach piano, but gave vocal instruction and was willing to work with Ana to see if there was a talent. Ana Margarita was 17 when her voice teacher began to work on a zarzuela for her students to showcase their talent. After preparing for nearly a year, Ana Margarita, a soprano, starred in a successful version of Luisa Fernanda. This role would lead to Ana securing her first television contract for the CMQ Network, Cuba's largest entertainment company. She debuted with an orchestra conducted by maestro Gonzalo Roig (the man behind the zarzuela of Cecilia Valdes) who introduced her as the next big star. The CMQ appearance led to an infinite amount of other work; such as having guest roles on multiple musical variety shows of that day, including El Gran Teatro Esso among others. Her voice was so loved that when the Cuban cultural giant, Pro Arte Musical, mounted a version of Amal and the Night Visitors Ana Margarita was cast opposite Marta Perez. The offers and opportunities kept growing. Ana began performing not only Zarzuelas but soon was doing operettas as well. El Conde de Luxemborgo, Los Molinos del Viento, La Corte del Pharaon, Luisa Fernanda, were just some of the pieces she performed with much success. Her stage work culminated at that point when Gonzalo Roig himself asked Ana to play the title character in Cecilia Valdes. She played Cecilia as well as the character of Isabel simultaneously (the two characters never meet on stage). It was the highlight of Ana's early career. Ana mounted shows at the Casino Parisien of the Hotel Nacional in Havana and the Havana Hilton. Her nightclub engagements led to concerts, and three records.
...
Wikipedia