Elsa Lina Naves Loynaz

Elsa Lina Naves Loynaz (Cobian), was born in Habana, Cuba. She is truly a multi faceted artist of poetry, writing and song.

Biography

Early life and education

The daughter of Cuban union of Manuel Naves Jordi and Leonor Elsa Loynaz Diez, first cousin of poet Dulce María Loynaz, whose father was the Cuban General Enrique Loynaz del Castillo ( [http://www.spanamwar.com/delcastillo.htm] ). She is part of the historic Cuban family Loynaz del Castillo [http://www.loynaz.com/index2.htm] , of many patriots of Cuba's war of independence with Spain and of countless artistic personalities.

She began her studies at Nuestra Señora de Lourdes of Rancho Boyeros and the new High School Institute of La Víbora. As a small child, her parents took her to see European and American films, thus was born her love of the movies.At nine years of age, she began taking voice lessons from music professor Tina Farelli, thus an affinity towards Classical Music and the Opera began to take root. As an adolescent she wrote her first poems.

Career

She also began auditioning and performing for amateur shows such as the Amado Trinidad radio program and later on television with well established programs of German Pinelli and Gaspar Pumarejo. She auditioned and obtained her Professional Artistic card, to be able to work in the industry. In 1955 she became part of the Lydia de Rivera Vocal Group, who was performing in the musical South Pacific at the world famous Cuban Cabaret Montmartre. They were then contracted by CMQ Television to perform on several of their TV shows such as Cabaret Regalías, Jueves de Partagás, The René Cabel Show and others. This resulted in another contract to perform in the Dominican Republic,where they had tremendous success performing on the radio, television and cabaret nightclubs. From there they continued on to Venezuela; where in Caracas they performed on El Show del Mediodía and Cabaret Plaza, where they worked alongside the Orquesta Sonora Matancera and the Cuarteto Los Rivero. Continuing on to Maracaibo they performed on the radio program Ecos de Zulia and also the Hotel del Lago show.

Elsa and her sister Miriam, who danced ballet for the famed Alberto Alonso Troupe, left dancing behind when she got married and started a family. Miriam left Cuba in 1960 with her husband and tree children, Pedro, Miriam and Norma, and Elsa reunited with her sister in Miami in January 1962. Leaving Cuba along with her three small children, Ramón (Ray) Raposo, Elsa María (Chomat) and Rebeca Lina González (Russo). For five years they lived on South (Miami) Beach, and later the family moved to a house they bought in the area near Flagler and 53rd Avenue in S.W. Miami. They were later reunited with their mother Elsa (Leonor) and half sister Belinda Rabi in Miami. For many years Elsa concentrated on her children and home, however never abandoning her artistic passions, thus always attending the opera and the movies, specially foreign films. She sang for many years at mass and weddings mostly at the St. Hugh Catholic church. She also began writing a film critic column for the Spanish language newspapers América Libre and later El Diario Las Américas ( [(http://www.diariolasamericas.com/] ). For her excellent work in publishing she was awarded the diploma of the National Cuban Newspaper College in exile. She took a sabbatical from writing her movie critics column to continue her studies at Mercy College. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Sociology in 1978, graduating Magna Cum Laude. In some of her other work she did volunteer work for 5 years for Community Development and Community Action, she also served as Vice-Chairman of Planning & Zoning in the city of Sweetwater, where she lived for a number of years in the 1980s. Elsa also worked as a transition counselor for assisting women prisoners of TGK and Women Detention Centers of South Florida.

Marriage and children

Elsa has been married to Lucio Cobián for 25 years and many of her poems are dedicated to and inspired by him. They have three children: Ray Raposo, Elsa Chomat and Rebeca Russo.

Published works

*"Sentimientos" (2007)

References