Singer Luisa María Hernández (1920-2006) had just turned 60 when the phenomenal success of the SAR label briefly revived her career in the 1980s. Born in El Cobre, in the province of Cuba formerly known as Oriente, she became "La India de Oriente" at the beginning of the 1940s. She worked in radio and TV and performed with names like Trío La Rosa, Barbarito Díez, Celia Cruz and Julio Gutiérrez before relocating to the USA in 1960. Recordings she made with Trío La Rosa in Havana between 1949 and 1954 are compiled on Yo Fui La Callejera: Con Trío La Rosa (Tumbao, 2001). She made two albums for the Gema label, Guajiras y Décimas and another with Julio Gutiérrez y sus Guajiros. Between 1980 and 1982 Luisa María recorded three wonderful albums for the SAR sister label Guajiro, ¡Desde El Cobre Con Amor!, La India de Oriente and Buenos Dias Africa, and sang lead vocals on one track in SAR All Stars Interpretan A Rafael Hernández ‘81 on SAR. Her final outing was La Reina de la Guajira ‘85 on the SAR descendant Caimán. The anthology La India De Oriente collects four tracks each from ¡Desde El Cobre Con Amor! and Buenos Dias Africa. Most of the SAR house band were on the sessions, including trumpeters Alfredo "Chocolate" Armenteros and Leonel Sánchez, bassist Marino Solano, bongosero Juan Méndez, tres player Charlie Rodríguez and conguero Alberto Valdés. Alfredo Valdés Jr. played piano and cast all the arrangements in the characteristic rootsy SAR mould of extended tracks with plentiful soloing opportunities. – John Child
La India de Oriente discography