The singer and musical producer Suylén Milanés, daughter of the renowned Cuban singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés, died this Sunday after a stroke, reported to the state record company EGREM.
Suylén, one of the three daughters of the marriage of Pablo Milanés and Yolanda Bennet, had developed an extensive career in the musical field in her 50 years and had carved out a name for herself in the Cuban cultural world.
“It is with deep regret that we learned today of the death of Suylén Milanés, an outstanding performer and musical producer. We say goodbye to this passionate, enterprising, and talented woman. A lot of light for her soul,” EGREM wrote on Twitter.
“Her heart stopped beating a few hours ago,” wrote Nancy Pérez Rey, current wife of Pablo Milanés, who added that the father of the deceased will not go to Cuba for the time being —he is in Spain— for health reasons.
The artist had been hospitalized since last Thursday in an intensive care room of the National Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery in Havana, and since her admission, she was diagnosed with severe brain damage and an “irreversible” prognosis, according to family sources.
The news circulated immediately in independent digital media and on social networks, where wishes for better health multiplied.
A BRILLIANT CAREER
Milanés was considered a tireless and prodigal creator, who opted for national alternative music, especially electronic music, and Afro-Cuban songs.
She was the president and organizer of the Cuban electronic music festival “Eyeife”, which flooded its headquarters in Havana’s Almendares park every year-end, in its latest versions held online due to the covid-19 pandemic.
In 2009, Suylén assumed the direction of the Propositions Office, attached to the PM Records cultural institution founded in 1998 by her father, a space from which musical, record, and audiovisual productions are made, the design and implementation of advertising campaigns, development of corporate identities and organization of events in general, among other services.
At the same time, the dynamic artist was the leading voice of the musical group Yarini’s sessions, with Daima Falcón (choir), Hansel Arrocha (guitar), Yandel Cruz (bass), Diana Ruz, and Pedro Gutiérrez (drums).
He also collaborated with the Tesis de Menta group, among others. She was also the creator of the Somos project, in which she brought together seven enterprising women in various fields of the musical universe: businesswomen, producers, vocalists, composers, sound engineers, dancers, and directors.
Milanés explained in an interview that with a project he intended to “give light” to the role of women through staging, training, and raising awareness among the youngest, “prompting them to pursue their dreams”, creating a space where women and men could promote alternative music on equal terms.
In its 2020 version, the Eyeife festival focused on the issue of women in music, with a large presence of female DJs, and then its president explained that she wanted to add it to the Somos project.
“Above all, I am interested in making the project visible through all possible channels to later materialize it in various forums on the Cuban scene. Because Eyeife is an electronic fusion with any genre and any artistic manifestation.
Somos is the same but rock with alternative electronics”, he pointed out. Somos, the last initiative to which he devoted his energies, pushed the production of a studio album —with a dozen songs— in alliance with the company PM Records and with the support of the musician and producer Athanai Castro, recognized for his solo work and with figures such as Rosario Flores and his sister Lynn Milanés.
Milanés left two descendants: Pablo and Camila, the fruits of their respective marriages to Mauricio Rentería and Camilo Guevara, son of the Argentine-Cuban guerrilla fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara.