There is a city filled with colonial history, a clear, intensely Catholic city if you look at its urban and multicultural projection. The former village of Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe, today Camagüey, has half a millennium of legends and traditions, some of which are seen at a picturesque festival that for the last six years takes place on its land: the Feast of Tinajón. Adalberto Álvarez, recognized musician and an a renovator of the genre on the island, brought the idea and a group of managers of cultural and governmental sectors as well as creators born in these lands joined it and shaped an event that stands as Camagüey art showcase. Always near the date of awarding of the title of City, by the Spanish King Ferdinand VII on November 12, 197 years ago, the Feast of Tinajón shows a cultural digest in just five days. In several areas of the town the results of the movement of amateur artists, arts education, young designers and avant-garde of the province are perceived. Since last Wednesday visitors and city dwellers can enjoy that dance tradition cultivated by a number of Haitian descents, settled in this area of the country and...

The migrant has to bring a lot to the place where he decides to settle. The culture of his native land, for example, he takes it tattooed on genes and follows him wherever he does stay. It has happened to the musician Mick Moloney, who takes Ireland deep inside. With his banjo and a group of musicians and dancers, he will seduce this Havana filled with tropical sounds and melodies. Mick has come to the island with all the reference of the renaissance of Irish music from the 60s of last century, so influenced him and who also served him as a platform to formally present it on stage in Dublin. Then Moloney moved to Philadelphia, a city in the eastern United States and from there he built a defensive trench to the art of his native island. Seductive and contagious, his music draws the poorest of his country. It is an art that, according to Moloney, appeared as the only means of expression of that social class. "Many of them, mostly peasant and farmers, did not even own their land and some came to the US after the Great Famine in Ireland. Today everyone from scholars and architects to...

"I've always wanted to be in Santiago de Cuba, singing the Santiago music," said José Alberto Justiniano and "broke" with a unique interpretation of the themes of Los Compadres, the duo composed of brothers Reinaldo and Lorenzo Hierrezuelo, and of the latter with Compay Segundo. Justiniano, a last name he clarifies only used for checks and accounts, is a connoisseur of sound made ​​in this region of the island and is an eternal debtor of great sons of the eastern city. He only managed to say: "With pleasure" to that invitation by Septeto Santiaguero to No quiero llanto – Tributo a Los Compadres(Canarios Music, 2014),, his second collaboration with these Cuban musicians, the first was the interpretation of a song in Vamos pa’ la fiesta (Catalan Picap), which in 2013 received a nomination to the Latin Grammy. But ... No quiero llanto, as he predicted, will win a Latin Grammy. "If they do not give it to us, I'll go buy one and I will bring to Cuba," El Canario said, well known on stages around the world for its unique way of whistling son. With 18 singles, the album features guests like Oscar D'León, Ismael Miranda, Andy Montanez Eliades...

Yo-Yo Ma is explosive. He drops his scores to the floor and plays the cello as anyone. His colleague, the Mexican Carlos Prieto, is usually methodical in his execution; his excitement is drawn more subdued in his face. What is common to both instrumentalists, known on the world stage, is that they are just great. Having them at one time, musically joined by the Suite for cello (1999), by Mexican Samuel Zyman; and for that fraternal friendship that binds them to Leo Brouwer it was undoubtedly an unforgettable moment for those who decided to challenge the whimsical Saturday rain in Havana. In five movements, that seemed fragments of seconds, the duo Ma-Prieto managed to sharpen ears at the auditorium of the Martí Theatre, in Old Havana. While Carlos played the sensitive chords written by Zyman, a Yo-Yo imbued with the same passion made from rubbing his bow with the cello, precise, energetic, expressive chords of the Suite come out, made for two unparalleled artists. No wonder Ma and Prieto invited after the Brasil Guitar Duo -composed by Joao Luiz and Douglas Lora Rezende, to close with an edgy piece: The Bow and the Lyre (2013), by Brouwer. The work was...

Palabras (Words) is a concert that I need to enjoy again. Only on repeat, watching again the musical proposal, I will be able to look further into the details of woven strands of a pillar of contemporary Cuban composition aesthetic, as is Marta Valdés, whose work led to the young singer Haydee Milanes for the concert on Thursday in the Mella theater in Havana. There was nothing impersonal in each selection made by Haydée. Marta lyrics carry a depth of universal experiences, which can hardly fail to win over those who listen to them. Catching the essence was always a challenge that Milanes was aware of and managed to win by appropriating the life on those lyrics. The singer became intoxicated by Filin, the Creole movement that Valdés is part of and precisely transcended because of its close way of speaking about loving distances, unique passions and sublime feelings. Works born in the heat of intense 1950s and others that belong to the two subsequent decades were interpreted and articulated with simple and intimate scenery and a commendable job on the lights, all of which denoted a mastery of dramatic projection this Thursday evening. This led again to transcend the...

"An album is the pinnacle of an artist's work and should be transparent. The public, if they perceived that way, makes it theirs, "says René Avich, who has decided to share the details of his participation in the Jóvenes treseros de Cuba CD , his first album. Out as a result of his prize in a son contest sponsored by the International Fair Cubadisco 2011, the CD contains eight songs by Renesito, and equal amount by César Hechavarría and San Miguel Pérez, all winners of that event. The album was released this year and has already won the highest honor of the Cubadisco 2014, in the category of Traditional Folk Music. But let´s René, a debtor of musicians like Miguel Matamoros, Pancho Amat and Juan Formell, present a work he considers that describes him melodically, since he admires each area of popular music and is respectful of all its codes. " Jóvenes treseros de Cuba contains my career so far. There are in it eight pieces performed by me, six of them written by me. I started composing at the age of 16, something I improved with my studies at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA). "One of my first...

His was a necessary voice in the Cuban music scene. Isaac Delgado's return to island scenes ended a yearning for an audience that in the 1990s faithfully followed his type of melody, so popular and acclaimed for his way to respect the codes of yesteryear and by infusing contemporary concepts to the most important genre in the Cuban music. I thought about it when Delgado was performing on Friday at the Centro Cultural El Sauce, at the opening of Habanarte, the event that brings together all the arts and for ten days shakes Havana. El Chevere de la salsa started at midnight with a group of luxury with visible faces of that mythical decade as Germán Velasco, and followed by young figures in current popular music, including drummers JJ and Eduardo Ramos, all capable of assimilating and enriching with their contributions Delgado songs.... To evoke this crucial stage in NG La Banda, the singer sang Necesito una amiga, considered a classic in the repertoire of the orchestra led by Jose Luis Cortes (El Tosco). Then he sang known hits belonging to the period when he decided to launch his career with his group. So people could enjoy his Qué pasa...

The real Buena Vista Social Club (BVSC) consistently acts in the Havana Café at the Melia Cohiba Hotel of the capital, said Ephraim Sabas, recognized artistic director of the Havana facility to a group of journalists. Sabas said that the legendary band has its home at the hotel facility and offer visitors their unique musical seal as does the outstanding percussionist Amadito Valdes, who was part of the project at its inception. Questioned by OnCuba on the proliferation of groups and soloists with the name of BVSC working in several areas of Havana, the project leader, Jesus "Aguaje" Ramos replied that "it is necessary that the media and the authorities call for a happy end to all false Buena Vista. Because there is only one BSVC and the real one is here. I do not know how they allow that. " The statement by "Aguaje" Ramos uncovered a claim of the musicians he leads and has been generated from the presentations in the capital areas of groups that cultivate traditional Cuban music, which claim to be part of BVSC. "I'm tired of talking and wondering why that happens, because here in Cuba there is only one Aragon and Van Van,"...

I noticed a lot of nostalgia and emotion in Francisco Cespedes’ face while he speaks about his performance next September 27, at the Karl Marx Theater, as part of the Sixth Leo Brouwer Chamber Music Festival. Cespedes, who was shocked by the impact of his work in the Cuban audience, entitled his performance in Havana Donde está la vida. During the concert, he will make a tour though his career and will have Pablo Milanes as special guest. He will perform in the company of his musicians, who were also born in Cuba; though he pointed out his guitarist is Argentinean but can play the Cuban notesvery well. “It has been 24 years. Actually, I didn’t have a career in Cuba before, but I may have it now, by the side of Leo Brouwer and at the Karl Marx Theater, and after some difficulties we had to face in order to perform here, all I can say is that I’m one of the luckiest men on Earth. I guess today the only men happier than me are those who have children or recently had them. Those are happier than me”, noted Cespedes as he blushed, while I took a look...

Juan Formell said popular bands should always take into account the demands of the dancer. "He decides the game. If the audience does not dance, you have to check what happens, because what you are doing is no good ", the creator of the legendary Van Van once told me. Last Saturday, when the fifth stop of the Artex tour through the neighborhoods was held at the Jose Marti Anti-imperialist Tribune in Havana, the place was really flushed with joy and enjoyment. There then I thought of Formell´s valid analysis of popular dance music, in that quintessential element son as a genre has that is found in these musical groups, an aesthetic that inevitably bears the seal of the contemporary. Each of the bands repeated the same phrase: "Hands up, asking for health" in the climactic moment of the songs. Prayer served me as a catalyst to reconsider his phrase. A brief observation of the public allowed me to measure if the proposal on the stage was effective or not. It was an amazing exercise, which worked like a charm when Tania sang Se te están cayendo los pantalones, theme popularized by the singer during her passing through Bamboleo. Also...

No one knows about love, says a romantic, caring and intimate Raul Paz, who seduces his audience with his latest album, Ven Ven, which he will interpret this Saturday at the Karl Marx Theater. Though the European press insists that this album brings mixed sounds and tries to place it in a medium position in the straight lie of the Cuban music, I would rather place it within the contemporary and diverse Cuban music of today. Paz belongs to a strong movement in the current musical scenario and is most of the times encompassed in alternative music, though I have to disagree in part because that trend is marked by the clear influences of an artistic aesthetics that runs in the blood of Cubans and takes as paradigms figures like Benny Moré, Miguel Matamoros and recently deceased Juan Formell. Therefore, Raul’s new album –which OnCuba had the opportunity to listen to—retakes daily issues that have been dealt with by older composers, but are definitely enriched with a harmonious vision that undoubtedly nourishes from foreign genres like pop, reggae, funk and soul, and son as well Cuban customs. The track, by the same title of the album combines swing and jazz...

Social networks are incredibly useful. One of its most popular spaces are chats which allow intimate communication among friends and are an incredible tool for journalists to get closer to our interviewees. That’s what happened with singer Will Campa, the leader of the band La Gran Union, which is frequently played on the radio with one of their latest hits: Qué me quiten lo bailao! Will, from the Canadian province of Alberta, explained Oncuba that the band has started its usual summer tour by that northern nation, last July 2. He added the tour will be over by September 24. He told us that they are taking part “in Canadian jazz and Latin musical festivals. We have recorded most of those concerts to send them to the Cuban television channels”. “Right now we are at the Latin Expo Festival in Calgary, Alberta. Haila María Mompié is one of the special guests. We will also share the stage with José Alberto El Canario, and the Manía and Sonora Dinamita bands”. “The tour includes performances in Vancouver, Edmonton, Kaslos, Mission, Calgary, Toronto, Victoria, Ottawa, Saskatoon, Regina and Pender, among others.” Is La Gran Unión thinking on a new album? I asked him...

Steps go by the rhythm of the clave. That’s the real mystery of Cuban music. Some people say dancers no longer use it as a guide for dancing. But if they don’t, what keeps them moving when musical bands on the stage start saying: “Con las manos pal’ cielo, mi gente” (hands in the air, come on!!!) The truth is that a continuous movement of hips and synchronized and colorful dance steps make his way through. I think the secret lies in the audience. Composers nourish from their wisdom and their daily routines to give live to an essential rhythm in the national sonority. It was confirmed last Saturday by Adalberto Álvarez, Manolito Simonet and LaritzaBacallao on 7th and Doble Via, a frequent square in the municipality of Boyeros for the performances of orchestras and popular artists. They demand that close and natural interaction with their followers, and Artex through the neighborhoods, a tour sponsored by that cultural entity on the occasion of its 25th anniversary, makes use of that knowledge and turned it into a tangible fact. On the fourth stop of the tour, in Boyeros, and with the announcement that the next one will be at the Jose...

“There is a broad dichotomy in the work developed by musicians, which is perceived in their lyrics. Some of them are elegant and intentionally ambiguous while others are plain and less elaborate”, said a colleague of mine last Saturday in Alamar, during the third stop of Artex’s tour through Cuban neighborhoods. This tour is gaining significance therefore the Cuban media should pay more attention to it. His words were the result of an authentic performance by Tania Pantoja and her band, one of the four musical groups that performed at the Plaza Africa, in Habana del Este. Pantoja, the third artist to go on the stage gave a wonderful presentation; she could have put a perfect end to the evening. This event had a basic moral: popular dancing music demands a systematic space for interacting naturally with dancers as it used to back in the 90’s. Tania Pantoja is one of the “keys” to reconnect with that audience eager for similar performances. She reedited hits form her epoch with Bamboleo such as Sueño de cristal, Se acabaron los guapos en La Habana and Quién manda and made a version of a single by Mexican Thalia. She was able to win...

Dr. Rodney Wynkoop answered each of OnCuba questions with an exciting look at choral music. He has been for many years immersed in the musical movement in his country, the U.S., and is looking forward to this tour that will take him to Cuban cities such as Cienfuegos, Santa Clara and Havana. With the usual hustle and bustle of preparing an essential cultural trip for him and his singers, Wynkoop doesn’t stop expressing his gratitude, "on behalf of all members of the choir, for the interest in our tour of Cuba. We are honored by this. I would also like to thank all Cubans who have made our trip possible. " The renowned artist, trained at Yale University, says that everyone is "really looking forward to sharing our music with you and at the same time know your country, its people and its culture." I was told you have certain predilection for the music of your country: is it hard for you to take that music tradition of your country to choir music? First of all, let me start by expressing my appreciation, on behalf of the entire choir, for your interest in our choir tour to Cuba. We feel...

There's nothing Eliades Ochoa loves more. For him his musical roots, his native land: Songo-La Maya, and his family are essential. Mixing these three passions of the Santiago musician in a phonogram can be difficult. However, Bis Music has done in El Eliades que soy, a double volume that the label just launched in Havana. Musically, the album contains 16 songs that Eliades and legendary Cuarteto Patria have turned into indisputable successes, among them are El calderito de tostar café, A una coqueta, El fiel enamorado, Pregón santiaguero, Para los pinares se va Montoro and Píntate los labios María. Giving details of the selection of these works, the artist explained that he wanted to "make an album with those songs that I started doing the Cuarteto Patria in 1978.” "But I tried to do the usual," the musician said, while confessing that "there were songs that I had no idea how they began. It happened with Pregón santiaguero, which belongs to an album of the same name, and people changed the name to Harina de maíz. Recorded in Siboney Studios in Santiago de Cuba and the musical production of José Ángel Martínez, this disc was kind of return to that...

Elito Revé has directed one of the heavyweights of popular music in Cuba for 17 years. He inherited the Charangón from his father, who founded it almost six decades ago. This band has been a school for many renowned Cuban artists. The Charangón’s music conveys authentic musical genres such as changüi, which is combined with other contemporary genres and places it in the preference of dancers. Last June 14, in the Peruvian capital, Lima, Elito Reve and the Charangon celebrated the 58th anniversary of the band. Kala Entertainment, a renowned producer of international events, organized a show with the special participation of the Charangon and other Cuban artists as for instance, Pedrito Calvo, César “Pupy” Pedroso, Tania Pantoja, Manolín, Manolín and Michel Maza, Cuban singer living in Peru.  The South American nation was represented by Bum Bum Mezclao, Team Salsa and La Constelación, directed by Alain Almeida Manzanares. The next performance of the Charangon will take place next June 22, at the Salón Rosado in La Tropical, in Havana. In both performances they will interpret songs from two albums, recorded with Bis Music: La aplanadora de Cuba and Homenaje a Elio Revé. ElitoRevé explained OnCuba these albums comprise the current...

The US Triangle Choral Exchange will perform in several Cuban cities as part of a tour arranged for the last two weeks in June. The band, directed by maestro Rodney Wynkoop, includes classic and contemporary pieces in their repertory, but they will also interpret Cuban music as for instance songs by Eliseo Grenet and Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo). The Triangle Choral Exchange will perform in Cienfuegos, on June 17, at 9:00 p.m., in the Tomás Terry Theater, and will be joined by local artists. Santa Clara will be their second stop on June 19, at 8:30 p.m., at the Cultural Center of the city. Villa Clara’s Provincial Choir, directed by Yolanda Martínez, will be one of the special guests for the evening. In Havana, the US band will perform along with Entrevoces, a choir directed by Digna Guerra. This performance is scheduled for June 24, at 5:00 p.m., at the emblematic Museum of the Revolution. The band brings together 40 singers from three cities from North Carolina (US), known as “the triangle”. Its singers come from different choirs led by PhD. Rodney Wynkoop. It is made up of university students and professionals, including professors, music teachers, active and retired academicians,...

They say it is not about returning to a recent past. It is the same son but from a different period, from the second decade of the 21st century. So, are they organizing these kinds of events now? A frequent dancer in those usual concerts in Havana during the 90’s asked while making a gesture that confused me and my photographer, aswe waited this Saturday at the Latin American Baseball Stadium for the second stop of Artex’s tours around neighborhoods, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of that cultural institution. The activity was threatened by an intermittent rain. “Some time ago Elito Reve’s and Manolito Simonet’s bands would have created a lot of expectation. Look, just now”, said the dancer while looking at the few people gathered around the Stadium, around 9 o’clock that Saturday. The moment Tania Pantoja and her band literally “broke” the ice, there was a different atmosphere. Pantoja sang songs by Bamboleo, the band that made her famous at a time when timba had an important position in the popular preference. She also interpreted some of the latest songs included in her repertory. The Stadium was then full. It started to rain and Tania told...

Sacrilegio (Sacrilege),an album by pianist Ernan Lopez-Nussa, swept awards in four categories (Anthologies, Jazz, Recording and CD-DVD) and got the Great Prize during Cubadisco 2014. This was an unusual awarding ceremony. On Wednesday afternoon, the jury of this musical award stated that the CD DVD Sacrilegio (Colibri Productions) was major award winner of the year and thus was granted the Great Prize. Sacrilegio not only comprises the virtuosityof Lopez-Nusa, a pianist that has proven to be able to conquer the most demanding audience. This production has succeeded in terms of the organization of its musical conception, which is achieved with the performance of bass player Gaston Joya and knowledgeable drummer Enrique Pla. Another of the highlights of this event was the Extraordinary Award presented to Beatriz Marquez for the quality of her interpretation in the DVD Espontaneamente (Abdala Productions). In this album, Marquez recorded some of her hits throughout her artistic career and joins late Juan Formell in a special duet in the single Este amor que se muere. It is precisely Juan Formell’s imprint in popular music what motivated the recording of the DVD Siempre Habra Van Van (Abdala Productions) by the children’s theater company La Colmenita and Juan...

This Sunday,eleven days after Juan Formell passed away, his band returned to the stage with a special concert to pay homage to its founder and Cuban mothers. This Sunday, without the usual formalities and political atmosphere sometimes requested for this kind of events, Cuban actor Luis Alberto Garciaasked the crowd gathered in El Sauce Cultural Center to make one minute of silence to pay homage to a great Cuban musician. “Juan Formell is a musical genius and his death took us all by surprise, as well as Benny More’s and Arsenio Rodriguez”, explained Garcia, the host of a cultural space in El Sauce. The audience, made up of people from different ages and origins, welcomed this idea by Garcia, the main character in films such as Clandestinos and La vidaessilbar, which have left a mark in different generations of Cubans. The organizers of the event placed to the left side of the stagetwo objects regularly used by the leader of Van Van during their performances: a bass and a microphone. It seemed they were waiting for his owner, the one who came up, on December 4, 1969, with the idea of creating a band that revolutionized popular music given the...

High quality marks the candidate nominations to the phonographic contest, Neris González Bello, president of the jury, said Cubadisco 2014 is at the door. The phonogram event, the largest ever on the island gathers the productions of the music industry for a coveted award that this year has 46 categories and 132 nominated CDs, according to data provided to OnCuba by the organizing committee. This Tuesday the first winners were already announced. Six phonograms have been awarded the Special Prize for their exceptionality. The news was released at the legendary Tropicana Cabaret in Havana. They were: Encuentro. El tres y el cuatro (Colibrí), by Pancho Amat y su Cabildo del Son and Ángel Martínez y Emsemble 4X4; Concierto antológico (Colibrí), by Santiago Feliú; Te doy una canción (Colibrí), by Augusto Enríquez; Colección 30 años (Bis Music), by Liuba María Hevia; the CD DVD Me dicen Cuba (Egrem), by Various; and Volcán (5 Passion), by Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio Hernández, Armando Gola and Giovanni Hidalgo. By delving into the intricacies of competition, Gonzalez Bello, said: "This year has really been a great surprise, because we did not expect such a huge quality productions presented and this, of course, made us make exceptions...

Invited by the organizing committee of the Cubadisco International Fair, the Spanish group will perform with Carlos Varela on May 16 at the Karl Marx Theater With some brief connections with Cuban music, Chambao think their trip to Havana in coming May will allow them to enter into the soundscape of the Island They have always had respect and admiration for the Cuban musicality, which was reflected in their Chambao disk, where they were assisted by pianist Chucho Valdés in one of their songs. Invited by the organizing committee of the Cubadisco 2014 International Fair and thanks to the collaboration of delegation of the General Society of Authors and Editors of Spain (SGAE) in Havana, the group will perform here its fabulous fusion of flamenco chill with electronic melodies. This time, they say, it is worthy because it will be one stop in their world tour. They have huge expectations as Lamari, leader of Chambao, assured. When I asked him, via email, if he is planning to do a project with musicians from here, the singer does not rule it out. "Everything will go! " he types. For now, the first thing they will have in Havana is the May...

It seemed an image from the 90’s. It seemed one of those amazing scenes where timba, son…, popular music prevailed as it used to in some neighborhoods of Havana such as Marianao, Guanabacoa, La Lisa… From the Plaza Roja in the municipality of 10 de Octubre, a classic band pleased an increasingly demanding audience in view of the scarce presence of similar bands there. Many years have gone by since the salsa “dynasty”, a boom that shook the whole country. Manolito Simonet, the director of the Trabuco and one of the artists involved in a project by Artex to take popular music all over the country on the occasion of the 25thanniversary of this agency for commercializing art, explained OnCuba that this new initiative combines son with other musical genres and its leading characters are large popular bands. Manolito Simonet, the director of the Trabuco “I cannot really say this has to do with the 90’s, though back then I made a tour through Camaguey and Ciego de Avila provinces when I was still a member of the Maravillas de Florida band. Van Van was also part of the tour.” According to Simonet, that was a different project. “It has...