Karina Nuvo's Nouveau Soul Hits Long Beach

If you look closely at Karina Nuvo's career, you will notice some constant themes. First, good things come to those who wait. Nuvo waited six long years as illness rendered her sultry voice songless, only to bounce back with renewed strength and vigor. Second, it truly is never too late to follow your heart. At age 19, Nuvo may have bloomed late for a singer, but bloomed no less brightly for that.

If you ask Karina Nuvo what her goals are as a jazz, gospel, soul, and R&B vocalist, she might get a little flustered. It's not unusual these days to see scantily-clad female singers gush over performing at Madison Square Garden, wearing that fabulous barely-there number by such-and-such, doing a duet with such respected musicians as, say, Justin Timberlake. But to Nuvo, these ideas from planet Pop Culture are as far from her dreams as they can be.

"I don't feel the need to do it up with flashy outfits and gimmicks," Nuvo says. "I just want to make an album I'm proud of, that people can enjoy, and do what I love long-term. I'm not looking for the limelight."

Despite the acclaim her smoky, soulful voice is drawing in, Karina Nuvo obviously hasn't changed much from her younger days behind the stage. In high school, Nuvo confesses, she was much too shy to act in her school plays. It wasn't until age 19 that she became aware of the powerful voice waiting behind clenched teeth for the day she found courage to open her mouth.

Another theme Nuvo's life embodies is that every cloud has a silver lining. Struck with laryngitis early in her career, Nuvo's voice was seemingly doomed to produce the dreaded raspy whisper from then on. But could a vocal disease dampen the spirits of the indomitable Nuvo? "The laryngitis actually lowered the pitch of my voice - it made my voice huskier, and stronger," she explains, and the very thought of rain clouds is gone.

Even then, setbacks lined the path to public recognition. Nuvo began performing original songs around Miami, where she lived, but soon felt drawn to the West Coast to pursue her career. Not long into her stay, she was stricken with a debilitating disease that left her too weak to belt out her beloved tunes. Recovery took six painful years, during which she watched others rise to the place she longed to be.

"I'm lucky to be here," Nuvo says now, having regained her strength and worked her way to public glory. "I'm living other people's dreams, and I don't take that for granted because I sat for six years watching others live my dreams!"

Karina Nuvo does not describe herself as a Latin singer. Born as a first generation Cuban-American, she has never seen the ethnic homeland in which her mother suffered for voicing her political opinions. Nuvo laments the fact that Cuba and Fidel Castro are permanently entwined in many people's minds, but the feelings of identity that have produced her ode "Cuba" have not moved her to take political action. Her feelings for the country, she explains, are purely sentimental.   
 

On Friday, August 13th, 2004, Karina Nuvo will show Long Beach her nouveau lease on life at the Long Beach Jazz Festival. Her show starts at 6:45pm, and will be one of her last public appearances for quite some time. What could possibly take the place of singing on this spirited chanteuse's agenda? The words "I'm expecting" fall like a blessing on the life of a woman who's had no shortage of love.

There is still another theme running through Karina Nuvo's life, from whose moral we can all take inspiration: love conquers all. "I'm surrounded by a great team of people, who I love and who I can depend on," Nuvo says, and her sincerity shines through like the sun after rain.

To learn more about Karina Nuvo and hear her voice, visit her homepage.

Published on Aug 12, 2004