Blanquita Amaro, 83, Cuban entertainer, `queen of rhumba' dies
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Legendary Cuban dancer-singer Blanquita Amaro died Thursday at Baptist
Hospital in Miami of a heart attack. She was 83.
For more than half a century, her versatility allowed her to star in
musical revues, drama and comedy, ever since her 1939 film debut in
Estampas Habaneras (Havana Scenes).
Thereafter, her name led the casts of 23 films she made in Mexico,
Spain, Cuba and Argentina, where she shared credits with celebrities
like Pedro Infante in Scandal of Stars (1944), Tin Tan in Summer Hotel
(1944) and Luis Sandrini in The Seducer (1950).
Amaro was born on June 30, 1923, in San Antonio de los Baños, Havana
province. At 9, she won a singing contest at the Payret Theater in
Havana and later appeared in dramatic and musical shows in a tent-
theater in her neighborhood.
She left Cuba for Panama in 1959, and settled there with her husband
and manager, Orlando Villegas, and their daughter, Idania. For 10
years, she hosted a daily television program and participated in many
benefit shows.
A NEW LIFE
In 1968, Amaro moved to Miami. Here, she had her own theater, hosted
the TV programs The Blanquita Amaro Show and Say It in Mime, and
appeared in numerous shows staged by the Pro Arte Grateli Society.
''Blanquita was a great lady who honored us with her appearances,''
said Pili de la Rosa, a founder of the Grateli society. ``She was a
marvelous actress who conquered audiences in South America. No doubt,
her death is a great loss for Cuban art.''
Amaro's ability to adapt to any medium allowed her to host programs at
Miami radio stations, such as La Poderosa and Cadena Azul, for many
years.
FINAL MOVIE
In Miami in 1980, she made her last movie, How Hot Miami Is! with Olga
Guillot, Raymundo Hidalgo-Gato and Pedro Romàn. She also won plaudits
for her performance in the play Stolen Lives, and in the comedy The
Close Friends, with Griselda Nogueras and Néstor Cabell.
In the 1970s, she had her own theater on Southwest 57th Avenue. There,
she starred in My Husband's Lover, with her daughter Idania, Germán
Barrios and Miguel de Grandy Jr. Idania died four years ago.
De Grandy remembered Amaro on Friday as ``the queen of rhumba, a very
charming and spontaneous artist.''
For 28 years, Amaro presented Cuba Sings and Dances, a variety show
directed by her daughter Idania and produced by Manolo del Cañal, her
son-in-law, at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium. Such popular artists
as Olga Guillot,Tongolele, Maria Marta Serra Lima and Xiomara Alfaro
appeared in that show.
One of Amaro's final public appearances was on Jan. 27, at Miami's
Artime Theater. She received an ovation from the public at a concert
by soprano Alina Sánchez, who dedicated the concert to her.
Viewing will be Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m., at the Bernardo Garcia
Funeral Home, 12050 SW 117th Ave. For information, call 305-232-1010.
On Monday, a Mass will be said at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes
Catholic Church, 11291 SW 142nd Ave. Burial will follow at 11 a.m. at
Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery, 11411 NW 25th St.