• Submitted by: admin
• Music
• Personalities
• 04 / 08 / 2010

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The legendary Afro-Cuban jazz singer who blazed the trail for Hispanic pop stars like Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, died Wednesday after being hospitalized in New York for several weeks. She was 94.

Graciela, or "Gracie" to her friends, "was where it all started," said Bobby Sanabria, who played on three of her records.

"Without her, there is no Celia Cruz or La Lupe or any of the stars today."

Born in Havana, Perez-Gutierrez began performing with the all-female Orquestra Anacaona, where she played bass and sang.

In 1942, she became the first woman to front a major tropical band when she moved to New York to sing with the Afro-Cuban orchestra led by her stepbrother Machito.

She performed primarily with Machito and her brother-in-law Mario Bauza for decades.

"She had a beautiful voice," said radio host Paco. "She could sing anything, boleros to salsa, and as soon as she started to sing, you knew just who it was."

She leaves no immediate family but is survived by longtime assistants and friends Avenol Franco and Maria (Mappi) Torres.

BY David Hinckley
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Source: www.nydailynews.com/