Abel Posse
Abel Parentini Posse was born on 7 January 1934, in the Argentine city of Córdoba where he only lived the first two years of his life. Two years after birth the family moved to the capital city of Buenos Aires due to his father's work commitments. His mother, Elba Alicia Posse, belonged to the creole landed oligarchy of Galician descent who held vast sugar mill estates in the North West province of Tucuman. Amongst the influential members of the Posse clan in the 19th century, the liberal Julio Argentino Roca stands out, twice president of the republic from 1880 to 1886 and also 1898 to 1904 (3). Posse fictionalized 19th century Tucuman in his novel El inquietante día de la vida (2001), where two distant family relatives are the protagonists; his maternal great-grandfather, Felipe Segundo Posse, and Julio Victor Posse, patron of the arts in the sugar producing province until the 1940s.
Alvy Powell
Powell was born in Birdsnest, Virginia. He grew up in Cheriton, Virginia; he had four older sisters, and he said that they were instrumental in getting him interested in music. He grew up singing gospel music at the African Baptist Church. He said that from an early age he was encouraged by church members who recognized his vocal abilities. Powell remembers that at age 14 he was inspired by a recording of William Warfield singing the part of Porgy in the George Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess". "I had never seen anyone black in something so classical. I knew it was right for me. I said I was going to sing it some day," he said later. He attended Northampton High School, graduating in 1974. He went on a musical tour of Europe the following year after hearing about it from his high school chorus teacher.