Interview with Aymée Nuviola

 Aymée is a Cuban singer, pianist, composer, producer, and actress. Born into a family of musicians, she started playing the piano at the age of three. At nine, she began singing professionally with her sister Lourdes, forming the duo "Las Hermanas Nuviola". From a young age, Aymée composed and sang while accompanying herself on the piano, inspired by the works of Benny Moré, Elena Burke, Omara Portuondo, José Antonio Méndez, among other great figures representing Cuban music and tradition.

Interview

 On January 26, 2020, you received the Grammy Award for Best Tropical Album with A Journey Through Cuban Music, a category that hadn't been won by a woman in twenty years. You were the first Cuban singer (male or female) to be nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album in 2020 with the album Viento y Tiempo Live at Blue Note Tokyo, in collaboration with the master pianist, producer, and composer Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

Prior to this, in 2019, you were nominated for the Grammy in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Album. Como Anillo al Dedo is the record with which you received the Latin Grammy in 2018 for Best Tropical Fusion Album. In 2014, you were nominated for the Latin Grammy, and for the 2015 Grammy with the album First Class to Havana as Best Salsa Album and Best Tropical Album. You have also collaborated on multiple Grammy-winning albums. What did it mean for you to have the opportunity to be nominated and win the Grammy twice? How did you experience that moment?

 I felt the hand of God in everything because, truthfully, those were two miraculous moments. The first nomination came in an incredible way; when the album Como Anillo al Dedo won the Latin Grammy, the record company already had another project, the album that came next: A Journey Through Cuban Music, which was the album I recorded in Cuba and here with musicians from both places. And we were already immersed in this other project. The record company wanted to turn the page with Como Anillo al Dedo because it had been a while since its release, several videos had already been made, and it seemed to have given all it could give. However, this nomination came, leaving us speechless, and then the Grammy arrived. The same thing happened with the American Grammy, with the Journey album, which was another wonderful surprise, and it was the same process.

 But this time, God manifested with even more power when we suddenly saw that we were nominated alongside artists like Marc Anthony, Juan Luis Guerra, and Luis Enrique, and we not only won the Grammy but shared it with Marc. That was so significant for us, and to this day, it’s something that remains in our memory. Sometimes we watch the videos of us walking to the stage to receive the Grammy, and we get emotional remembering that beautiful moment when we were in shock, unable to believe what was happening. It's a memory my husband and I hold dearly.

 When you went to Colombia to do the telenovela Celia, playing Celia Cruz, your husband Paulo Simeón, a producer and director of television and radio (currently your universal manager), had produced the album First Class to Havana, which was the album that first received double nominations at the American and Latin Grammys and positioned you internationally; the media in the United States, within the artistic community, and the academy itself, focused even more on your musical style following this production. We know that to fulfill the contract and go to make the telenovela, you interrupted the tour of this album, which later turned out to be a huge success, and prioritized the production of the telenovela. How would you define the experience of playing Celia Cruz?

 Playing the character, the artist of the level and reach Celia Cruz had in Latin music worldwide meant a lot to me; it was something I did with great love. All our achievements have been the result of much work and consistency. The telenovela projected me to many countries, I had that privilege, and from this production, my career was further internationalized. The telenovela has aired in over forty countries, both in Latin America and Europe, Asia, and several African countries. Celia was very loved in Africa. She did many performances with Fania in that part of the world. The telenovela had a lot of reach, attracting different audiences to my career.

 You are one of the most successful women in Cuban music today. You have participated in Jazz festivals such as the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam and have performed practically on five continents, from Cuba to Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, Holland, Hungary, and in various places in the United States, including the iconic Madison Square Garden, The Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, and the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, among others. Before leaving Cuba, you had a duo with your sister Lourdes. You sang trova, bolero; then you started with Pachito Alonso, being a woman in an orchestra of men, carrying the weight of a show and achieving tremendous success. You sang in the main cabarets of Cuba and important venues worldwide. Your sister and you were the backbone of those shows. How would you define the change, leaving Cuba after all the work and successes you achieved in your country? Was it difficult for you? What led you to consider living outside of Cuba and developing your career in the United States?

 Before coming to live in Miami, I lived in Costa Rica for a few years, then I moved to Mexico, Cancún, where my niece was born. After that, I decided to come to live in the United States. Each change has been a restart, a new beginning with a type of audience that sometimes remains as a remnant. And other times, you simply have to introduce yourself to a new audience; it’s very complicated for an artist, especially when you disconnect from your own country for reasons beyond your control, until you manage to reconnect, as is our case, where we were able to re-establish that connection and reappear among the Cuban artists living abroad. In the United States, we have made part of our lives, our careers, and reaped many rewards. I think I am one of the few who has the privilege of having my music currently played in Cuba, and people there know a bit more about me.

 In 2016, you were given the key to the city of Miami, and Mayor Tomas Regalado proclaimed February 10 as Aymée Nuviola Day in Miami, a distinction repeated by the mayor of Houston, Sylvester Turner, proclaiming October 14, 2016, as Aymée Nuviola Day in that city. What does this mean to you? How did you feel?

 Well, it had a double meaning, it was a great honor; it's a city that has given me a lot, and I received it with great gratitude, always first to God, who makes everything possible, and then to all the people He has put in my path. I would have loved at some point to have the key to the city of Havana. I gave so much to Cuba, to my audience!

 Could you share an anecdote of an experience that deeply moved you? What has meant a personal change for you?

In essence, I am a person who maintains my principles, my way of being, my personality, my character, but when I met God many years ago in Costa Rica; (I hadn't had the opportunity to meet Him in Cuba), that definitely changed my life, changed my perspective, my vision of what our journey through the world really is, so to speak. Also, the way to face difficulties, to react, which is very important.

When you know Christ, it's not like a magic wand that comes and makes everything beautiful, but He gives you tools through His word and the Bible to live differently, to face things differently, to have much more conviction, to have a well-defined line of what is right and wrong, not to be a changeable person who goes with the currents, who goes with trends, who needs to keep changing to be accepted, but to define yourself in something and focus your life on it. I think of all the things that have happened to me, the most important has been that.

 You come from a very close-knit family; you have a special bond with your niece Paola Guanche Nuviola, who at just 12 years old, began to gain popularity after participating in the U.S. edition of La Voz Kids, where she was chosen as the first winner of the contest. In 2018, her powerful voice made her selected to be part of La Voz México, under the guidance of Colombian singer Maluma, who was one of the coaches of the show and was impressed by the perfect register of the artist during the blind auditions. What does your family mean to your career and your life?

 My sister and I started singing as a duo since we were little, and this has become a lifelong thing; it's something we do constantly, regardless of my solo projects and hers. We are a united, fun family, we have a great time together. My niece has grown up in the musical and artistic environment, she has a lot of talent; Paulo supports her a lot, in fact, he is her manager. He will guide her so she can find her way in this. As a family, we try to connect beyond everything and enjoy our time together.

 Do you have any peculiar habit before you start performing?

I pray, I ask not only for myself but for everyone involved in the event, and I always like my husband to bless me before I go on stage, and my stylist Toni also blesses me, and I like that very much, as simple as that. The rest is up to me to make things go well. We usually pray for things that are out of our hands, for everything we can't control, such as the sound, for example, something so important in a show that can ruin it, trying to make the sound work well, that there are no setbacks, those are the things we pray for and ask for.

 What is Aymée Nuviola's favorite food?

 Croquettes, I love croquettes. They are delicious when well made.

 Aymée, it is worth noting that you have been cooperating for over 14 years with the League Against Cancer in Miami, collaborating with humanitarian organizations such as USAID, Amnesty International for the protection of human rights, and also with 305 Pink Pack to fight cancer, the organization Walk Now for Autism Speaks, and with several organizations helping Colombia, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico. For the latter, you were part of the fundraising and distribution of a private plane provided by Gregory Elías and Top Stop Music, with more than three tons of food for the victims of Hurricane Maria on the island. You also wrote and recorded the song "Pa'lante Puerto Rico" with singer Rey Ruiz, donating all authorship and distribution rights to raise funds for the hurricane victims. Through this interview, I want to thank you on behalf of all the people you have helped, for your kindness, for the beauty of your soul, you are a pride for Cuba and all Cubans.

 Thank you, Osiris, here we are. A hug.