I would like to imagine that at 4:07am on Wednesday, June 10, before saying goodbye to the world, Rosalía Palet Bonavia had the opportunity to review the story of her life and confirm the deep impression she left on several generations of Cubans.
It is true that she triumphed in Mexico and the United States, won standing ovations in Spain and countries across Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe, but unquestionably she was the Rose of Cuba.
The obituaries will say that Rosita Fornés was born in New York on February 11, 1923 and died in Miami at 4:07am, on June 10, 2020, but those who want to bear witness to truth will be obliged to say that her natural audience, the most fervent, the most passionate, the most faithful, that enjoyed every one of her creations, showering her with glory, was that of her Cuban compatriots.
On April 12, 1938 she sang the milonga “La hija de Don Simón” during La Corte Suprema del Arte radio program, on CMQ. From then on, she performed in a series of artistic events of first order, lavishing them with her talent as a singer, dramatic actress and comedian, with complete performances that can be summarized, in the language of her trade, as those of the ultimate vidette.
No stage was alien to her: theatre, radio, television, cinema. There was practically no genre that did not to excite her creative passion: zarzuela and operetta, variety shows and musical comedy, mambo and bolero, tango and pop ballads.
If she had limited herself, like so many others, to exploiting only her physical gifts - the beauty of the face and sculptured body - she would not have been the artist she became. She was - and will continue to be - beautiful, but she always knew that this was not enough to convey emotion and artistic content, to give performances that would endure in memory, as a result of the conviction she assumed and shared with the audience. This is why she valued rehearsals, study, responsibility and work, as tools to obtain results.
She made her debut as a film actress in the feature film Una aventura peligrosa (1939) directed by Ramón Peón. She arrived on the theatre scene in 1940 with the zarzuela El asombro de Damasco at La Comedia Theatre. During her years in Mexico, her success flourished. In 1947 she married the Mexican actor and businessman Manuel Medel, father of her only daughter, Rosa María. The Medel-Fornés Lyric Theatre Company made history. In February 1952, with her marriage on the rocks, she returned to Cuba, where nascent television was gaining ground. She appeared for the first time on CMQ-TV’s Gran Teatro Esso program, with the operetta La casta Susana, under the musical direction of Gonzalo Roig. During this period, she met Armando Bianchi, her future husband and a recognized figure in the performing arts.
She made television her home. For decades she starred in popular programs, alternating her work performing in variety shows, participating in Cuban and international festivals and, of course, the lyrical music scene, as a founder of the National Lyric Theatre.
She heard the news of the Revolution’s victory, in January of 1959, while touring in Spain, and readjusted her schedule to return earlier than planned.
She practically never stopped performing, not even when she said bid farewell to zarzuela with Cecilia Valdés (1998) in the role of Doña Rosa Sandoval de Gamboa and María La O (1999) as the Marquesa del Palmar, with which she crowned a tour of the Iberian peninsula.
Thanks to director Juan Carlos Tabío, she returned to film in 1983 with Se permuta, which opened the doors to Plácido (1986), Papeles secundarios (1989), Quiéreme y verás (1994), Las noches de Constantinopla (2001), Al atardecer (2001) and Mejilla con mejilla (2011).
She never failed to surprise, continuing to surpass herself. She made this clear when Nelson Dorr directed her in the play Confesiones en el barrio chino, written by Nicolas Dorr, especially for her. The playwright chose her for two other plays: Vivir en Santa Fe and Nenúfares en el techo del mundo.
Rosita Fornés was decorated with the Felix Varela Order granted by the Council of State in 1995 and won the 2001 National Prize for Theatre, for Television in 2003 and Music in 2005. She was a member of the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists’ National Council, which recognized her as a Member of Honor.
Less than two years ago, she confessed her poetic art to a colleague: "The greatest prize I have had as an artist is the way the public had received me, how they always loved me. That was enough for me. I never thought I was the best. Never."
