Havana, Feb 2 (EFE).- Singer-songwriter Sara Gonzalez, one of the original voices of the New Cuban Song Movement, has died in Havana, official media reported. She was 60.

The artist revealed several months ago that she had undergone a colon operation, the official Web site Cubadebate noted.

Also, Cubadebate reported that Gonzalez had bade farewell last Dec. 26 to her fans at Havana's "El patio de la Gorda" club, an artistic venue where she performed once a month.

There, the artist said that after that appearance "what remains for me to do is to wish you many nice things, a lot of happiness, I wish you health - above all health - for the rest of your lives. Be happy, be as happy as you feel every time you come here. We have to give thanks every day for the life we're living."

Gonzalez produced music for film, television and radio as well as her solo albums, and she also participated in several album collections.

She studied guitar and viola and began her professional career in the early 1970s as a member of the musical group Los Dimos and in an occasional duo with singer-songwriter Pedro Luis Ferrer.

In 1972, she joined the Grupo de Experimentacion Sonora of Cuba's ICAIC film institute and stood out as the female vocal performer with that outfit along with fellow New Cuban Song pioneers Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanes and Noel Nicola.

During the course of her career, Gonzalez shared the stage with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa and Pete Seeger, among others.

She performed throughout Europe and Latin America as well as in the United States