Freddy - 1960 - Freddy

Freddy

1960

Freddy

01. El Hombre Que Yo Ame 2:45

02. Tengo 3:33

03. La Cita 3:20

04. Noche Y Dia 3:45

05. Vivamos Hoy 3:28

06. Freddy 3:55

07. Noche De Ronda 4:14

08. Tengo Que Decirte 2:21

09. Debí Llorar 3:42

10. Sombras Y Más Sombras 3:33

11. Gracias Mi Amor 3:21

12. Bésame Mucho 3:46

Manufactured By – Impresora Cubana De Discos S.A.

Accompanied By – Orquesta De Humberto Suárez

Lead Vocals – Fredesvinda García Valdés

Leader – Humberto Suárez

Fredesvinda García Valdés, known as Freddy, was born in 1935 in Céspedes, a small village in Camagüey, Cuba, to a poor peasant family. At age 12, she moved to Havana, where she worked as a cook for the family of Arturo Bengochea, president of the Cuban League of Professional Baseball. Her musical journey began at the Bar Celeste, a hub for artists near Radio Progreso, where she sang a cappella with a distinctive contralto voice, shaped by her weight (over 300 lbs), which lent an androgynous quality to her performances. Discovered by the director of the Hotel Capri’s casino, Freddy quickly rose to prominence, performing in Havana’s vibrant nightlife and on television programs like Jueves de Partagás alongside icons like Benny Moré and Celia Cruz. Her meteoric career (1959–1961) was cut short by a heart attack in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 31, 1961, at age 26. A 2011 article from Les Inrocks claims Freddy was “chassée par le régime castriste” (chased out by the Castro regime), but this lacks corroboration from primary sources or detailed evidence. This could reflect the broader narrative of artists facing pressure to conform or leave during the revolution’s early years, but no specific actions against Freddy are documented. Despite her success in Havana, Freddy struggled in exile, dying in poverty. Puerto Rican singer Myrta Silva and other Cuban artists ensured she received a dignified funeral. Freddy’s legacy endures through her sole album, radio play, and cultural references, including Guillermo Cabrera Infante’s Tres tristes tigres (where she appears as Estrella Rodríguez) and a 2010 Cuban theater production, Freddy, una mujer que canta.

Released in 1960 under Puchito Records (MLP-552), Freddy’s only album, known as La Voz del Sentimiento or Ella Cantaba Boleros, is a masterful showcase of her emotive contralto and the filin style, blending bolero’s romanticism with jazz’s improvisational flair. Arranged and conducted by Humberto Suárez, the album features twelve tracks, including Cuban and Mexican boleros and Spanish adaptations of American jazz standards. Standout tracks include:

“El hombre que yo amo” (The Man I Love, George Gershwin): Freddy’s rendition is haunting, her deep voice infusing Gershwin’s classic with raw emotion, rivaling Billie Holiday’s intensity.

“Noche y Día” (Night and Day, Cole Porter): Her soulful delivery transforms Porter’s standard into a sultry bolero, showcasing her versatility.

“Freddy” (Ela O’Farril): Written specifically for her, this track captures her persona, with lyrics reflecting her emotional depth and charisma.

“Bésame Mucho” (Consuelo Velázquez): Freddy’s version is tender yet powerful, balancing vulnerability and strength.

“Sombras y más sombras” (Humberto Suárez): A highlight for its melancholic arrangement, complementing Freddy’s unique vocal timbre.

The album’s production is lush yet restrained, allowing Freddy’s voice to shine. Her ability to convey longing and heartbreak, rooted in the filin movement, elevates the album to a timeless gem. Critics, like Gilles Tordjman in 1998, praised its reissue for its emotional depth, ranking it among the best of 1960. Its only limitation is its brevity, leaving listeners yearning for more from an artist whose career ended too soon.

Freddy’s androgynous voice and nonconformist presence challenged the gender norms of 1950s and 1960s Cuba, where physical appearance often defined a performer’s marketability. Her weight and contralto voice defied the era’s feminine ideals, embodied by contemporaries like Olga Guillot or Celia Cruz, making her a figure of intrigue in Havana’s nightlife. While no definitive evidence confirms Freddy’s sexual orientation or gender identity, her androgynous vocal quality and unconventional persona resonated with marginalized communities, including those in the nascent Latin LGBTQ movement.

In the context of pre-revolutionary and early revolutionary Cuba, where machismo and heteronormativity dominated, Freddy’s performances at venues like Bar Celeste—a gathering place for diverse artists—offered a subtle challenge to societal norms. Her ability to sing boleros, traditionally gendered as expressions of male or female longing, with an ambiguous vocal texture, allowed listeners to project their own identities onto her music. This ambiguity prefigured the gender fluidity celebrated in later Latin LGBTQ icons like La Lupe, with whom Freddy was later paired in the 2002 compilation Ellas.

Freddy’s brief career limited her explicit involvement in activism, but her visibility as an Afro-Cuban woman who defied physical and vocal expectations laid groundwork for future queer Latin artists. Her portrayal as Estrella Rodríguez in Cabrera Infante’s Tres tristes tigres (1966) emphasizes her larger-than-life persona, which captivated audiences regardless of societal norms. The character’s prominence in Havana’s nightlife suggests a subversive allure that resonated with those on the margins. Similarly, her inclusion in Daína Chaviano’s The Island of Eternal Love (2006) underscores her enduring cultural impact as a symbol of authenticity and defiance.

Freddy’s tragic end in exile, unsupported by the Cuban diaspora’s mainstream, mirrors the struggles of many LGBTQ individuals who faced exclusion. Her legacy, preserved through radio airplay and cultural tributes like the 2010 theater production, positions her as a proto-icon for Latin LGBTQ communities, whose influence—though subtle—paved the way for greater visibility and acceptance in Latin music.