Actress, singer, dancer and longtime HOLA member Adolfina Liñán-Miller, known professionally and affectionately as Gabita Miller, passed away in New York on Sunday, August 5, 2012 after an illness.
Born on October 14, 1922, she started her career in the 1940s in her native Cuba, performing in variety shows, summer stock and zarzuelas (Spanish operettas). From Cuba, she moved to the United States, first to Miami and then to New York. While short in height (she was a scant 4'11"), she was large in talent, as she became known for her diverse dance styles (she performed flamenco, Mexican, Brazilian, Hungarian and even Hawaiian folk styles) and her cabaret act, in which she sang Latin American songs, often accompanying herself on guitar.
She appeared in several films (including Sangre/Blood, where she acted opposite Guillermo Díaz, David Zayas and Edwin Pagán) and commercials and was an active member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). HOLA Executive Director and SAG New York Board member Manny Alfaro recounts how she would attend committee meetings and often bring and demonstrate photos of herself as a specialty dancer at the famed Tropicana club in Havana.
And even in her final years, she never lost her energy nor her youthful exuberance. Her daughter Cristina Harmon mentions that even in her final days she was laughing and singing. She passed away in her sleep, at complete peace.
She leaves behind a sister, three daughters, five granddaughters, six great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren (her husband predeceased her), her friends and her colleagues in the HOLA community.
Que descanses en paz / Rest in peace
GABITA MILLER
No comments:
Post a Comment