To Yilam Sartorio, the U.S. feels more like home than any other country she’s performed in.
The 33-year-old opera singer from Cuba has toured globally, playing sold-out shows in countries like France and Mexico. Now, she and her husband, opera singer Ramon Centeno, are visiting UF as part of their first-ever U.S. tour.
Associate professor of music Anthony Offerle, who will join the couple on stage, met the two while traveling to Havana, Cuba, last month and saw a chance to bring them to UF.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for us to begin building bridges with a country, which up until very recently, we didn’t know very much about,” Offerle said.
The singers have been in the U.S. for about a month, and their first stop was in Atlanta.
“We love it,” Sartorio said, speaking in Spanish. “It’s the best country in the world.”
The UF School of Music and the College of the Arts Dean’s Office were able to fund Centeno’s and Sartorio’s plane flights from Atlanta to Gainesville.
Sartorio hopes to build a connection with the audience and touch their hearts through music.
“We want to be friends,” she said. “That’s the most important part.”
Cantantes y Canciones de Cuba (Singers and Songs from Cuba) will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at the School of Music, Room 101. The concert is free to the public.
