Lucy Fabery

Luz Ercilia Fabery Zenón (January 25, 1931 – May 13, 2015), known as Lucy Fabery, was a Puerto Rican singer who specialized in the style of bolero known as filin.[1] She recorded four albums and numerous singles in a career that spanned over 50 years.

Lucy Fabery
Birth nameLuz Ercilia Fabery Zenón
Born(1931-01-25)January 25, 1931
Humacao, Puerto Rico
DiedMay 13, 2015(2015-05-13) (aged 84)
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
GenresBolero, Latin jazz
Years active1946–2015
LabelsPanart, RCA Victor, Seeco, Ansonia

Life and career

Fabery was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico in 1931 to Don Rafael Fabery and Petra Zenón.[2] In 1952, Fabery began singing at the cabaret El Morocco in New York City.[3]

Due to her physique, Fabery was known as "La Muñeca de Chocolate" (The Chocolate Doll).[2][4] The fact that she performed solely in Spanish made her a rare and unique fixture in American jazz clubs.[4] Additionally, she was famous for having a "hoarse voice" and for her use of sensuality onstage.[5] She met Miguelito Valdés and traveled with him to New York and Havana.[3] Throughout the 1950s, Fabery toured México, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador.[3]

In the mid 1950s, Fabery recorded one album with Cuban keyboardist and conductor Julio Gutiérrez in Havana. It was released by Panart as a 10" LP, Tentación.[3] In 1956, she recorded four singles for RCA Victor.[3] She later recorded with Aníbal Herrero's orchestra for Ansonia Records in the early 1960s. Seeco Records signed her in 1962.[6] In April 1962, she recorded her sole album for the label, Noche de locura, which contained twelve boleros by composers such as Puchi Balseiro and René Touzet.[3]

She later worked as an actress and in 1987 recorded an eponymous album featuring Latin jazz musicians such as Jerry González, Andy González and Eddie Gómez. In 2006, she released her last album, Divinamente, Lucy Fabery, featuring Humberto Ramírez.

Fabery died on May 13, 2015, aged 84, of natural causes at Auxilio Mutuo Hospital in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. She was buried at Cementerio Historico Municipal Barrio La Pratt in Humacao, Puerto Rico as her wish to be buried at her hometown.[7]

References
  1. Figueroa, Frank (1 September 1994). Encyclopedia of Latin American music in New York. ISBN 9781491747704.
  2. Ramos, Josean (13 May 2015). "Lucy Fabery". The National Foundation for Popular Culture. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  3. Díaz Ayala, Cristóbal (3 May 2018). "Lucy Fabery" (PDF). Encyclopedic Discography of Cuban Music 1925–1960. Florida International University Libraries. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
  4. Sorrano, Basilio (18 September 2015). Puerto Rican Pioneers in Jazz, 1900–1939: Bomba Beats to Latin Jazz. iUniverse. ISBN 9781491747704.
  5. Casiano, Patricia Vargas (13 May 2015). "Lucy Fabery and love for her career". El Neu Vodia. Retrieved 31 March 2018. Her sensuality, hoarse voice and gestures that accompany her interpretations of soul made Lucy Fabery one of the most desired women by the male audience in and out of Puerto Rico.
  6. "Billboard". Billboard. 12 May 1962. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  7. Casiano, Patricia (13 May 2015). "Fallece la cantante Lucy Fabery". Elnuevodia. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
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