Biography
A voice rooted in filin
Born on October 3, 1988, she is a singer, songwriter and fine-art photography model. Her career reflects a deep devotion to the Cuban tradition of filin. She trained at the Eduardo García Delgado School for Art Instructors before taking lessons from the celebrated opera singers Gladys Puig and Conchita Franqui Alemani. She made her professional debut at the age of eighteen at the Basílica Menor of the Convent of San Francisco de Asís, under the direction of maestro Huberal Herrera, and later shared the stage with prominent figures such as Luci Provedo and Luis Carbonell in emblematic venues such as the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri and the Teatro Amadeo Roldán. Since 2010 she has been a founding member of the jazz group Portillo y Cauce, with which she has performed on renowned Havana stages such as the Theater of the National Museum of Fine Arts, La Zorra y el Cuervo, Jazz Café, Fábrica de Arte Cubano and the UNEAC. She belongs to the Centro Nacional de Música Popular and, since 2012, also works as a radio and film producer and artistic director.
Her career includes her participation as a juror in the French song competition of the Teatro Mella, appearances on Cuban radio and television —on programs such as 23 y M, Mediodía en TV, Cuerda Viva and La Majomía— and collaborations with artists of the caliber of Orlando “Maraca” Valle, Bobby Carcassés and Anaís Abreu. A disciple of the filin master Gerardo Portillo Scull, she has performed in multiple editions of the Jazz Plaza festival and the “Amigos del Jazz” festival in Santiago de Cuba. In 2019 she released her debut album, De tu Fílin a mi Feeling, in tribute to composers of the genre such as José Antonio Méndez, Ñico Rojas, César Portillo de la Luz and Marta Valdés. This project moved Marta Valdés so much that she invited her to perform at a tribute to Ñico Rojas. In that same period she joined the television program Música entre Nos, by Beatriz Márquez, where she performed the Brazilian classic “Corcovado” and the emblematic Vieja Trova song “Ausencia”.
Following this success, in 2020 she launched her own project, Habana Fílin, as a response to the pandemic, in collaboration with the acclaimed pianist José Portillo. With a repertoire that spans filin, jazz, bolero, Brazilian music, trova and son, she continues composing and performing as one of the emerging voices of contemporary filin in Cuba.
Habana Filín
Habana Filín is Yohana's band and musical home, a group of variable lineup that brings together some of the most brilliant jazz musicians in Havana. They are ready to follow her wherever the song wants to take them: from an intimate bolero, with just piano and voice, to a full arrangement with wind and string sections.
- Jazz Plaza Festival, Havana
- César Jazz Club, Havana
- Música Entre Nos, television special
- Regular performances at jazz clubs and theaters in Havana
