Haydee Milanés, born on September 28, 1980, in Havana, the daughter of the brilliant Cuban composer and troubadour Pablo Milanés, soon showed her musical inclinations. At just 6 years old, Haydee began singing and playing the piano at the Manuel Saumell Conservatory (Calle F No. 660, Vedado, Havana) and studied piano and choral conducting there from 1987 to 1994. At the age of 10, she performed on stage for the first time, accompanying her father in one of his performances. She later learned music theory and conducting at the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory (Calle Rastro No. 1, Habana Vieja, Havana), where she graduated as a professional in 1998. In Switzerland, she studied the old canticle and completed her studies.

Haydee Milanés’s professional career began in 1999 as a pianist for Ernán López Nussa’s cuartero, with whom she recorded an album in Rio de Janeiro with brilliant Cuban musicians such as Pancho Ferry and Tata Güines. In 2000, she was invited to Brazil to participate in the Heineken Festival held in São Paulo, and upon her return to Cuba, she began playing frequently at the Havana club La Zorra y el Cuervo (155 Calle 23, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana); where she had Roberto Carcassés as director of the interactive musical collective, with whom she collaborated on the 2003 compilation Cool Cool Filin.

Haydee traveled to New York in 2001 to begin recording her first solo album. The CD “Haydée” was released under the Emi México music label and was finally released in 2005. It was written and produced by Descemer Bueno, who also handled the arrangements. Throughout the recording process, which culminated in 2003, the album featured collaborations with prominent musicians from Cuba, the United States, and Africa. It was well received by critics and gained audiences through the concerts it was promoted at in Havana.

Her second album, “Haydée Milanés en Vivo,” in which she performs alongside her father and her sisters Lynn and Suylén Milanés, was released in 2008; she also shares the stage with David Torrens, Santiago Feliú, and Aldo López Gavilán, among others. This album was made up of thirteen songs from a concert held in July 2006 at the Covarrubias Hall of the National Theater (Paseo and 39th Street, Vedado, Plaza de la Revolución, Havana) in the Cuban capital.

In 2010, she released the CD “A la Felicidad” (To Happiness), under the Cuban label Bis Music. The album features duets with artists such as Omara Portuondo, Pedro Aznar, José Luis Cortés “El Tosco”, David Blanco, and her father Pablo Milanés. Haydee is the author and/or co-author of almost all of the album’s tracks, and she also debuted as a producer and arranger. The album received a nomination in the Pop category at the Cubadisco Awards that same year, and the title single, “A la Felicidad,” already has a video.

In 2003, Haydee Milanés collaborated on the Cuban film “Tres veces dos,” where she lent her voice to the female lead character. She also appeared on the soundtrack for the 2007 film “La noche de los inocentes.” Three years later, with the goal of raising funds for victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Chile, she traveled to that country to participate in a humanitarian project called “Arriba mi gente,” led by the prominent Chilean singer-songwriter Keko Yungue.

Throughout her career, she has performed on various stages in Cuba and around the world, both in solo concerts and in collaborations with prestigious artists such as Pablo Milanés, Silvio Rodríguez, Pedro Guerra, Kelvis Ochoa, Pedro Aznar, Santiago Feliú, and Polito Ibañez. She has participated in various festivals, such as the San Sebastián International Jazz Festival in Spain and La Mar de Músicas in Cartagena. In 2008, she traveled to Japan to participate in the project “The Women Are Beautiful.”

Haydee Milanés currently performs with her group in concerts in various venues in Havana and throughout the country. She has recently collaborated with prominent Cuban groups such as Tesis de Menta and Qva Libre.