Cuba’s Days Girls and their Big Dreams

By Ivett de las Mercedes

HAVANA TIMES — Twenty-year old twins Dayrelis and Daynelis Fabelo Nunez have been interested in the world of music ever since they were little girls and now they dabble in singing as well as modeling. In the Artemisa and Havana provinces, they have performed on different stages singing pop music, salsa, and boleros. Living outside of the capital hasn’t dampened their dreams.

HT: How did you know that you liked singing?

Dayrelis Fabelo: My mother enrolled us at the local Cultural Center because she saw we had a knack for music, a teacher gave us classes there. We used to sing at school events and also at friends and family’s birthday parties. We won municipal and provincial competitions. We are very interested in music, we know that we have to keep on studying, that we have to be disciplined and push ourselves to our limits. We still don’t have a producer who gives us feedback and promotes us, the person who guides and helps us is our mother and she has no knowledge about music, shows or dances.

HT: Do you have a place to perform?

DF: We sing at a night club that’s called Los Laureles here in Artemisa. The DJ of the show invites us and that way we can promote what we do. We have sung in some public spaces in Havana such as the Castillito, the cinema on 23rd and 12th streets, as well as in several towns within our own province. We frequently sing together, but we have also sung as solo-artists, that way we become confident about what we’re doing. At home, we have a small studio but we also rehearse at Los Laureles. We have written some songs together.

HT: Have you managed to sign any promotional videos?

DF: We made a video with [the popular youth band] Los Angeles. We met in person one night when they came to sing at Los Laureles. They gave us the opportunity to make a video with them and that was a step forward for our career. The song is called “Borracho y Loco” (Drunk and Crazy), which was written by Angel, the director of the group. We have also recorded our own videos as a duet and as solo-artists [but they are not online], we collaborate with many musicians both in Havana and Artemisa.

HT: As well as singing you also model?

DF: Yes, we are in an agency called Actuar, it’s an agency for models and actors. We graduated as professional models there, we also studied hairdressing. We go twice a week, sometimes it’s hard for us to get there because it’s in Havana and we have to get back to Artemisa in the afternoon, but we know that everything is a sacrifice in life. At home, we have a photography studio called “Los paperos”, in honor of my grandfather Pedro Nunez, who was a great potato farmer. We are hairdressers and make-up artists for girls who turn 15 years old and come to take their portraits. My mother is a seamstress and has made the majority of the 15 year old birthday dresses that we rent out. Our studio is very well-known throughout the province.

HT: What are your expectations, what do you need in the future?

DF: We want to be recognized all over the world, we enjoy what we do and on the stage, we show that we dance and sing with love. We always think positively, we can’t lose faith, one day we will be able to reach our dreams and goals. We have a sister in Peru, Dailin Curbelo, she was in various Cuban salsa groups, she is a professional singer and she advises us. We need to keep on pushing ourselves in what we do and need a producer to take an interest in our work, who perfects us and looks for our own style so that audiences will always be able to enjoy our art.