Lázaro Ros
Mario López-Goicoechea
Wednesday March 16, 2005
The Guardian
The singer Lázaro Ros, who has died of cancer aged 79, was a leading figure in Afro-Cuban culture. A modest and friendly man, he strove to raise awareness of the rich legacy of African slaves taken to Cuba. He performed the music of the Lucumí culture, which also includes religion and dance, of the Yoruba people from modern-day Nigeria, and the music of the Arará culture of the Dahomeyan people from modern-day Benin.
On one estimate, 70% of Cubans practise an African religion, the main one being Santería, the cult of saints, in which deities from the homeland are worshipped through Catholic equivalents. From an early age, Ros taught himself the chants arising from the practice of this religion in the Lucumí and Arará cultures: he possessed an extraordinary voice, capable of hitting both high and low notes.
Born in the Santos Suárez district of Havana, Ros had only a basic education, but, from the age of 13, he was singing in the religious festivities, or fiestas de santo. Afro-Cuban culture was particularly strong in the Matanzas province to the east of Havana, where his tutors came from,and, by 17, he was singing in a leading casa de santo, in effect a temple, there.
After working in a grocer's shop and as an assistant cook, Ros got his first singing break in 1949, taking over the Sunday afternoon slot of the now defunct radio station, RHC Cadena Azul.
His opportunity to establish an international reputation came after the 1959 revolution, when Fidel Castro's government established the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba (or National Folkloric Ensemble of Cuba). With this company, Ros travelled to France, Spain and the United States, where his art was widely recognised and welcomed.
From the 1960s, Ros worked at the Institute of Ethnology and Folklore, and with such important researchers as Miguel Barnet and Rogelio Martínez Furé.
In the 1980s, he reached out to a younger generation through his collaboration with the Cuban pop band Síntesis. Their album together, Ancestros (Ancestors), formed the groundwork for the creation of what became known as Afro-Cuban rock.
Ros's last project was a series of recordings of more traditional material with the group Olorun. Earlier this year, he was awarded the Orden Félix Varela First Degree, Cuba's highest cultural honour.
· Lázaro Ros, singer, born May 11 1925; died February 8 2005 
01-29-2006
Lazaro Ros 
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