Cuban musician and poet Amaury Pérez Vidal, born in Havana in 1953, has received the 2025 National Music Prize. The announcement came from Indira Fajardo, president of the Cuban Institute of Music, with the jury praising his contributions to the Nueva Trova movement and contemporary song.
Amaury Pérez Vidal, renowned for songs evoking memory and just causes, was awarded the 2025 National Music Prize this Monday. Born on December 26, 1953, in Havana, the artist started his musical path in 1969 and shared his astonishment: "Since I began my uncertain and risky journey in music in 1969, I never imagined a moment like this would come. How could I even foresee it? For me, this prize was an unattainable honor."
The jury, chaired by Digna Guerra—a 2006 winner—and including José María Vitier (2021), musicologist Martha Bonet, composer Beatriz Corona, and musician César López, acclaimed his blend of poetic rigor and emotional intimacy. The Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC) praised his work for its depth and consistency, resonating across generations with sensitive lyrics on love, daily life, and ethical dilemmas.
Pérez Vidal has scored films such as "Hombres del mar" by Manuel Herrera and "Isla de la Juventud" by Juan Carlos Tabío, along with TV themes like "Mañana es domingo" and the series "Hasta el último aliento" by Vicente González Castro. With over 40 albums, novels, short stories, and sonnets, he also produced three seasons of the program "Con dos que se quieran." This year, he earned the Félix Varela Order and the Master of Youth Award from the Hermanos Saíz Association.
On his recent 72nd birthday, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez called him on Twitter a "great figure of Cuba" and key creator of his generation's soundtrack. Pérez Vidal sees himself as a troubadour committed to just causes: "I have been and am a troubadour beyond any circumstantial and ephemeral label."
