Steve's Soapbox

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Rest in Peace Ibrahim Ferrer

On a humid old Havana morning,
a forgotten man kneels at the feet
of those who in more vital days
sweat through linen guayaberas,
gliding to the pulse and timbre
of this shoe shiner’s song.
Ay, candela, me quemo alli

Now an anciano, nobler in humility,
his flinty amber voice still shines,
resounding a lifetime of passion and loss,
a thousand days of concrete and dust,
nights of fateful spirit and redemption.

Ay, candela, me quemo alli

Sing now for Cuba, Angel of Havana,
for your life once lived,
for your love re-ignited,
for your street reclaimed

source: http://www.horizonmag.com/7/ibrahim.htm
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Buena Vista Social Club singer Ibrahim Ferrer dies
Sun Aug 7, 2005 7:47 AM IST

HAVANA (Reuters) - Ibrahim Ferrer, the mild-mannered singer of the Buena Vista Social Club group that took him from shining shoes to world fame late in life, died on Saturday in Havana, a funeral parlor employee said. He was 78.
Ferrer died of a heart attack after returning to Cuba from a tour in Europe, fellow Cuban musicians said.
"He died this afternoon and will be buried on Monday," Rosa Ramirez of the Calzada funeral home said.
Ferrer, a bolero singer who was compared to Nat King Cole, was born in Santiago in eastern Cuba on Feb. 20, 1927, and began singing professionally in 1941.

source: http://in.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2005-08-07T073853Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-211854-1.xml
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