Latvian pop legend Lolita Vambute celebrates her 90th birthday

Latvian pop singer and composer Lolita Vambute celebrated her 90th birthday in late August. Asked what she would wish herself, she replied briefly that she hopes things won't get worse, adding that material possessions hold little value for her.

Her anniversary year brings several notable events. Musicologist Daiga Mazvērsīte has written a book about Vambute's life and career, and on October 10 a concert titled "Es neesmu burve" (I'm Not a Sorceress) will take place at the Riga Latvian Society House, featuring the singer herself alongside other well-known Latvian performers. The concert will be conducted by Tomass Šlerks, a musician known in Germany, who volunteered to conduct it as a gift to Vambute.

Still performing, still active

Although Vambute ended her singing career in 2018, she continues to play piano daily, an instrument she taught herself as a child. While she also has a home in Solingen, Germany, she has mostly lived in Latvia over the past year and hopes to relocate to Riga permanently in the future.

Vambute attributes her excellent physical condition to discipline rather than genetics alone. She began exercising at age 35 after being diagnosed with polyarthritis, and since then has dedicated an hour and a half each morning to exercises, including breathing and balance training. She has never had cosmetic surgery or beauty injections.

Once a year Vambute travels to the Montegroto resort in Italy for therapeutic massages and mud treatments, where she also plays piano for other guests. In her daily routine she goes Nordic walking twice a week with a friend in Jūrmala and cooks her own meals from natural ingredients, avoiding processed food.