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Amaury expresses gratitude for receiving the National Music Award

The Cuban music community and the entire cultural sphere celebrated on Monday the awarding of the 2025 National Music Prize. To one of the most prolific creators in contemporary song and a genuine exponent of the Nueva Trova movement: singer-songwriter Amaury Pérez Vidal.

Author of classics such as “Hacerte venir” (Make You Come), “Acuérdate de abril” (Remember April), and “No lo van a prevenir” (They Won’t Stop It), among many other compositions throughout the life of this poet, presenter, and loquacious host. He told the Cuban News Agency that he is still very moved, especially because it was completely unexpected.

He thought the phone call from the president of the Cuban Institute of Music (ICM), Indira Fajardo. In front of the assembled jury and the press covering the news, was nothing more than an outdated April Fool’s joke. And he felt even more pride upon learning that the judges were his admired friends and longtime colleagues. Digna Guerra and José María Vitier—winners of the National Music Awards in 2006 and 2021, respectively. As well as Beatriz Corona, César López, and Marta Bonet.

Although it’s true that I’ve been writing songs since 1969, when I was 16, and have recorded many albums. I never thought about it, never imagined it; it seemed like an absolutely unattainable award, and I am very grateful to the judges, people I deeply respect. Thanks to the ICM, and thanks to life, which has given me so much, Pérez Vidal added.

Moreover he also shared his feelings on social media, alluding to a life where music has always been his starting point and his final resting place. Against hostile and capricious winds, I fought, I tried, and I achieved some songs that, I am sure, will outlive me, and that is more than a privilege, he affirmed.

He dedicated a loving tribute to Sara González (1949-2012), Noel Nicola (1946-2005), Vicente Feliú (1947-2021), Santiaguito Feliú (1962-2014), Lázaro García (1947-2022), Alberto Tosca (1955-2018), and to all those who have gone before us. “I have not been a man of ambition or vanity; I believe I was, and am, on the side of just causes,” wrote the profound intellectual, now the 2025 National Music Prize winner.

Since 1997, this award has been the highest honor in this field. Established by the Ministry of Culture and granted by the Cuban Institute of Music (ICM), in recognition of the excellence of individuals who have left a profound mark on the island’s musical development and have had a lasting impact on culture, both nationally and internationally.

With information from the Cuban News Agency

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