Vida

"Portuondo's contributions to ['Buena Vista Social Club' in 1996] revealed an elegant diva in her mid-sixties whom one assumed was enjoying a last hurrah before a well-earned retirement. That she is still singing adds a new and remarkable chapter to an already extraordinary story. On 'Vida' she duets gracefully with some of the biggest names in Latin music and beyond. Guatemala's Gaby Moreno is everywhere, singing on 'Bolero a la Vida' and arranging other tracks ... Rubén Blades makes a wonderfully romantic foil on 'Honrar La Vida' and 'Como La Cigarra', and a lilting duet with Peru's Susana Baca is another highlight. If her voice has lost a little lustre over the years, Portuondo more than makes up for it with a grande dame ripeness and character that is near miraculous".