“Mi rumba tiene sabor, mi rumba tiene iré, mi rumba tiene bomba” (my rumba has flavor, my rumba has iré, my rumba has feeling), reads a catchy choir by Rumbávila fusion, a band that has contributed with boosting this genre and has opened the 11th edition of the Piña Colada Festival, which began last Thursday and ends this Sunday. Among choirs, mixed touches of timba and an appealing choreography, this band form the central Cuban province of Ciego de Avila, is a sample of the diverse musical expressions in this territory. This event, led by young artist Arnaldo Rodriguez, has also contributed with revealing these expressions to the public. According to Virginio Menéndez Moro, cultural director of the province, Ciego de Avilahas many young talents. “The event is a space for making them known to the public, so that everyone gets to know their work and their efforts to move on. This is a good opportunity for them to become public, though they have taken part in other events as well”, he noted. However, Rumbávilais not alone in the Festival. There are also other bands such as: Aromas, Motivos personales and Iré tocao —the latter made up by art instructors—;...

A group of women master the Iyá, the Itótele and Okónkolo-names given to each of the bata drums. Furthermore they sing, dance and play the claves and chequeré deftly as wise connoisseurs of our folk traditions. It is Obiní Batá. This ensemble looks at the Afro-Cuban syncretism from culture and has been for two decades on the scene. It emerged in 1993 within the National Folk Ensemble. Eva Despaigne, their leader, says it is nothing new that women are interested in this kind of aesthetic proposal; they are faithful to the legacy of Rumba Morena and other women's groups who cultivate the rumba. Eva recognizes that it is not common for women to "play bata drums, accompanying instruments of all singings of the Yoruba religion, and which are only played by men, since within that worship is forbidden for us (women)." Eva Despaigne, ensemble’s director Despaigne explains that to them having the opportunity to play the bata represents a steady improvement as artists. There they find an incalculable cultural value, as these instruments have influenced our music, and offer them the possibility of have an impact through them. Hence, these drums have a role in the artistic proposal of Obiní...

There is an old concern among composers of Cuban dance music: the dancer. Paulo FG knows it. So he has taken a sensitive edge of everyday life of the audience on the island and has resulted in "Abre que vengo" (Open that I am coming), his newest album, produced by the Egrem label and it was presented to the press on Thursday at Havana's Delirio Habanero. Aesthetic concepts advocated in musical trends as timba, find a space on this album by FG, which has a dozen songs it is his 13th disc. In this work also stand out other genres like bachata, merengue and techno-ballad, a style in which Paulo has delivered singles that have left a mark on the sound memory of the people who follow him. Precisely, the song De Amores is a very impressive work, which we can enjoy twice. In the first one we appreciate a salsa song seasoned with international standards and where you can enjoy a delicious duet between Paulo and Nicaraguan Luis Enrique. In the second version FG uses the ballad to give us a more intimate view of love and discuss this sublime feeling, I must say that returns to this theme in Blame...

Three drum sets, two Paila Criolla and drums were, last Wednesday, on the stage of the Mella Theater in Havana. From there great players delivered a magical evening, which was a tribute to one of the most important drummers of the Island: José Luis Quintana, better known as Changuito . It happened two nights ago, during the Guillermo Barreto in Memoriam Drum Festival, event that repeated one of its most striking moments when it proposed the Percussion All Star show. It was interesting that the protagonists achieved a dramaturgical coherence in their actions, something that differed from previous editions where only some instrumentalists took this element into account. At the Mella they showed the importance of percussion in musical genres like flamenco, jazz, electronic music and popular dance. It was Changuito who broke the ice. The musician, former member of the legendary Los Van Van orchestra, made a mixture between the sound of timbales and bata drums. José Luis Quintana (Changuito) Then a star of American percussion, drummer Jojo Mayer made us travel the roads of techno and house music, while the Canadian Aldo Mazza delved into the rhythms coming out of tambourines, drums and African drums. The foreign representation...

Aisar Hernandez refutes a theory some people are trying to legitimize on the negative signs of Cuban popular music, which criticizes modern authors’ aesthetics and rules them out of the classic figures of this genre like Ñico Saquito, Arsenio Rodríguez, Miguelito Cuní, Juan Formell, Adalberto Álvarez… For this young musician, bass player and musical director of the legendary Reve band, this concept doesn’t recognize a movement of new creators that are continuing this work. “I know very good and very talented young musicians and I’m sure that in the near future I will hear about their work. Musicians like Osmani Collado, with lyrics for Charanga Habanera; and Dhayane Rivera, a member of Adalberto Alvarez y su son. I could also mention others that have promoted their own projects such as Wilfredo “Pachi” Naranjo with La Verdad, Maykel Blanco and Salsa Mayor, Alexander Abreu and Habana de Primera, and Manana Club”, he notes. Born in 1974 in Esmeralda, a small town in Camaguey province, Aisar inherited his taste for music from his father Alvio Hernandez Harris. He affirms that even though he started at the age of 20, when many artists were finishing their studies, he managed to make the best...

Faithful devotee of songo, melodic concept raised by Juan Formell in his legendary Los Van Van band, Maykel Blanco reflects in his works that reality that surrounds him. Respectful of own codes of popular dance music, the young pianist and leader of Salsa Mayor says he has begun an upper stage for the orchestra , which is a search for new sounds , but without losing the style that has characterized it along the way. A toda maquina (at full steam), the album saw the light in 2013 with the Italian label Planet Record, marked the beigining of this new time of the orchestra. And it appears that the phonogram has added followers to Blanco and his troop of soneros . Recently, the Peruvian Salsa and Timba (www.salsaytimba.net) website dedicated to promoting this kind of music, elected the Cuban group as the most important orchestra of the year in the South American country , while the aforementioned album proved the best in its class and Tremenda Pinta was the song of the year. Maykel explains that he visits Peru twice a year and there is an audience that welcomes his music there. Something he just reconfirmed since he returned a...

Matrices of recordings by Benny Moré, Celeste Mendoza, Elena Burke and countless figures of Cuban music are kept jealously in the archives of the Egrem, the label that for half a century has treasured these and other models, which then have turned into fabulous phonograms. "More than seventy thousand," Mario Escalona, director of the music publisher said to disclose the details of the promotional campaign for the company to celebrate these 50 years, which will marked next March 31. The global strategy designed by the label to present the artists of its extensive catalog is interesting. The initiative encompasses both artists who are part of their archives, as the musicians who lead an active life in the scene. To achieve this Egrem is headed in the positioning in Internet of new and already established artists, as Escalona said. "More than a company, Egrem is a cultural value that encloses all the work we do to disseminate such works," the manager said. Concerts, tribute galas made by prominent dance groups, album releases, sponsorship of events related to the music, and the reissue of the record prize granted to their most outstanding musical productions, appearing in the intense celebration which will extend...

Closed to the concepts of popular dance music that its leader has always defended, the latest production of Manolito Simonet and his group is meant for a broad and dancer audience For two decades the Cuban band Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco has carried the flag of the son montuno . Their new album, Sin Frenos (No brake), boasts that melodic "scaffolding " that led them to create their own style of making music. The album was presented Tuesday by the group leader and saw the light thanks to the Bis Music label in 2013. There Simonet gathers a CD and a documentary directed by Mayra María García- as well as music videos of the songs Sin freno, Farandulero and La cuenta no da, which are now been broadcast on Cuban television. On giving details of the audiovisual material, Mayra María García explains that it covers two decades of the orchestra through interviews to its leader and its members. It also collects images of performances in cities in central and eastern Cuba, and of a concert they gave in 2013 at the Karl Marx Theater. For its part, the CD features music production by saxophonist Germán Velazco and Manolito. It...

Digging into the melodic shelves of a heritage city, the Esteban Salas Early Music Festival of La Habana seduces with its historically informed way of presenting scores, an art with sensitivity and expertise of its performers, gives life to the past and witnesses an invaluable cultural heritage. Since Saturday, the tenth edition of the city event pulls back the curtains of the sacred and the pagan, and like a time machine, it goes towards a past rich in rhythms from the Old World and that New World conquerors wanted to make their own. It was then interesting that in the inaugural concert they moved on a less traveled path in musical research, as it was the African heritage in sound and the Ars Longa ensemble, host of the event, revealed in the Basilica Menor of the St Francis of Assisi convent. Ars Longa performed “Gulumbá gulumbé. Echoes of Africa in the New World,” led by the soprano Teresita Paz and Aland López, a concert based on studies of prominent Guatemalan musicologist, researcher and director Omar Morales Abril. Thus, the so-called black carols came magically back to life when performed by Ars Longa and its guests: the coral attached to the...

Precise in its artistic and intense by its long sessions of concerts, Havana World Music will debut on the Island this Friday and Saturday at 5:00 PM both times where it will present its concept of cultural diversity, as faithful embassy of Cuban and universal sound. Promoter of intercultural dialogue and a strong melodic proposal, the event will take place in the capital José Antonio Echavarria recreation center. There the curtains of a country rich in sound traditions, ranging from African and Spanish heritages, to the legacy of cultures such as the Chinese and Jewish will open, as its general director said, the Cuban singer Eme Alfonso. Alfonso said Havana World Music is the son of her to Para mestizar project, a thorough documentary directed by filmmaker Joseph Ross, where they reflected this identy. And in the event a good part of these traditions can be enjoyed, since the stage of José Antonio Echavarria on Friday and Saturday will feature The Cossiá and and the bagpipes group of the Sociedad Artistica, the contagious rhythm of Juan Formell and Los Van Van , troubadour William Vivanco, fusion-style rhythms by Deja Vu, this urban poetry that fills the work of Alfonso X,...

The Cuban singer talks about the separation of Buena Vista Social Club and the intense period presentations he will have in 2014 with his group Patria and the Banda del Jigüe Full of projects and still with the taste that left him the 2012Latin Grammy award, Eliades Ochoa said this Saturday he feels like one of his lyrics goes. And to emphasize it he used the catchy phrase to conclude this interview with OnCuba , which addressed important issues such as a new phonographic production with Cuban label Bis Music, and the final separation of the Buena Vista Social Club project, announced by its members on this 2014. On his schedule of activities for the next twelve months, Eliades was very enlightening:” I would say I do not like that the phrase" solo ", because I will work with the Banda del Jigüe and Patria group. With Buena Vista Social Club I'm doing something like fulfilling a duty, being the founder of this project. “Now, if Buena Vista Social Club will say goodbye to the world, I think Eliades should be there. So I am fulfilling that duty, “Ochoa said. - And as part of that farewell of Buena Vista,...

We are suffering, he said, "a crisis in that respect, constraints about having musical base, with the kind of wealth that Cuba has, and we're stuck in one or two beats. For my taste is not worth it. " Pablo Milanes sketched with few singles his album Renaissance, at the El Sauce Cultural Center in Havana. With Amor de otoño and Dulces recuerdos last Friday he seduced an audience who not only praised the new from the singer-songwriter, but also stories that as a man of these times, he reflects in his songs. The fact is that in Milanes poetry is condensed with that rational look to the environment, which he reveals to us with a melodious voice and revives with the passage of time. So enjoy him in Yolanda and El breve espacio en que no estás is always so pleasant. They are intact, as in all his works, such symmetric that guides his aesthetic. I thought about it when the singer delighted us in El Sauce, at the invitation of actor Luis Alberto Garcia, who leads one of the nightspots of this cultural center. I could not help but get close to Pablo, after that memorable performance and...

One of the fundamental questions facing creators is trying to universalize that environment that shakes them and makes them think. However, usually are also striking works that reflect the personality of those who have given them their voice. I think of that while I enjoy the DVD Spontaneously, in which Beatriz Márquez reviews some of the pieces that have marked her career. In the audiovisual material, released Thursday by the Unicorn label of the Abdala Studios, Marquez sends a message of unparalleled aesthetic: the good songs do not die, survive the authenticity of her lyrics and the quality of who plays. Maybe that's the secret that maintains the viewer attentive during the 75 minute the DVD runs. The 17 songs pass in one sitting and you remember how No respondo, that piece by René Márquez, father of Beatriz, and we shudder again. The same is true with Lo nuestro no es amor (No me grites), by Juan Almeida, Te conozco, by Silvio Rodriguez, Mariposa, by Pedro Romero, and the masterpiece Santa Cecilia, by Manuel Corona. A circumspect Beatriz closes her eyes and each song appears as though born of inside-certainly one of the trackson the album is written by her:...

He hummed Bonito y sabroso, by Benny More, and said he brings good memories. He also sang Los aretes que le falta a la luna, by Vicentino Valdés; said that sounded like Cuba, to that so marked musicality in this Island, which he also felt in Celia Cruz, Juana Bacallao and Francisco Céspedes- whom he considers a great in Romantic music. Alvaro Torres (Usulutan, El Salvador, 1954) then decided to check two of the reasons that more motivated him to come to Cuba. "I wanted to see if it was true that my songs were so popular here" and meet with many of those whom he listened to on Salvadoran radio. In couple of opportunities he toured the Caribbean island, to strengthen ties with the children of this land, until Tuesday he came with his suitcases to Havana with his group, ready to offer 2 unforgettable concerts on 13 and 14, in the Lázaro Peña Theater, whose seats are already sold, it is said. Torres's visit is the result of a cultural exchange project between El Salvador and Cuba, which has also resulted in the presence of the Brisas del Palmar septet in the Central American nation. Torres thanked everyone...

Roberto Fonseca told me last August that ¨Yo (Jazz Village / Harmonia Mundi),¨ his new album, was a "bridge between modernity and tradition, between acoustic and electro -analog sounds, where all age groups can feel identified." The selection made for the 56th Grammy Awards ceremony has also perceived that concept and has nominated the young Cuban pianist and his band ¨T emperamento¨ to the prize, to be delivered on January 26 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States. Although Fonseca´s nomination has had little impact on the mainstream media, in a hurry to reflect the artists from the region most favored by the market as Marc Anthony and Carlos Vives, the worth of Roberto’s album is a fact. So Yannis Ruel says in the words to the CD when encouraging music lovers to listen to it: "To people who still wonder who Roberto Fonseca is and all those who think to know him well, the Cuban musician answers with Yo, a n epic to the meeting with jazz, traditional music and soul, a journey from one side to another of the black Atlantic, an album featuring a new artist, not because he has changed but because his talent...

Recognized groups will meet for three days at the Salon Rosado de La Tropical to initiate activities for the 45th anniversary of the orchestra. The initiative, organized by the Clave Cubana agency, will take place December 13, 14 and 15... I still remember my grandmother Juana Theodora asking me to stay quiet in front of our KRIM 218 TV set to move her nonagenarian feet to the beat of the notes by Pedrito, "The Calvo," as she used to call that artist. Van Van used to burst into her routine as if it were a hurricane. My grandmother also loved the combinations of Pupy (César Pedroso) on piano, Changuito in pots and, of course, Pedrito singing: "Don’t knock at my door, the black man is cooking." Van Van took her to delirium, although the Aragon, Arcano y sus Maravillas and Sonora Matancera brought" awed to my heart." Juana Teodora remembered that event that erupted in late 1969. She knew of the whereabouts of the Revé Formell, whose song Tuesday constituted a kind of melodic hymn for her and my grandfather Severiano. She also hummed Lo material and enjoyed a vast Elena Burke, who played like no one else those pieces...

The Cuban Institute of Music announces delegation to the 2013 Latin Grammy composed of labels directors and nominees WOMEX 2013, one of the largest trade shows of world music, just awarded in the UK Juan Formell and Los Van Van the top prize. It was an important year for the so-called "Rolling Stones of Salsa", which also celebrated the Latin Grammy for Excellence, announced for the leader of the iconic Cuban band, to be granted in Las Vegas (USA), within a few days. Both laurels recognize Formell substantial impact on national music life and validate, as the renowned bassist well said on Thursday, that "Son has not left Cuba", shattering those who ruled that after 1959, the genre that originated in Cuba was gone with the exodus of artists who emigrated after the revolutionary triumph. A debtor to that that traditional son heritage and with undeniable contributions from the viewpoint of sound-the use of slide trombones and synthesizers are undeniable example of this-, Van Van become emblematic of that tune renewing Cuba today. From December 4, 1969, as the American journalist and musician Ned Sublette at WOMEX Award ceremony recalled, people “can imagine Cuban music without them." For the director,...

Isaac Delgado , Argelia Fragoso , Vania Borges , Coco Freeman and Adrian Berazaín , were among the performers that purely Cuban night held on Thursday at the National Theatre . Going to the root and find in it musical essences that sometimes seem ethereal and away from todays sounds may seem a proposal we can go without. But for all, the second meeting of Popular Voices insists on reminding us to travel to the real thing is a journey to enjoy and meet with ourselves. That’s what we perceived this Thursday at the Covarrubias Hall of the National Theatre, where national figures undertook a melodic route through distinctly Cuban genres. To break the "ice", the balladeer Raquel Hernandez seduced with that Zun Zun proclamation, by Ernesto Lecuona, and as background the impeccable notes by the orchestra formed for the occasion and led by maestro Guillermo Fragoso . I have to note that the musical selection of the evening could not be better. Authors like Juan Formell, Sanchez de Fuente and Cesar Portillo de la Luz were taken up by popular and talented voices of the island, as Vania Borges and Coco Freeman. A special moment of the Cuban Gala...

Dressed in violet and white with an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe backstage, Lila Downs seduced Havana. She did it by singing rancheras and impregnated by the musical folklore of her country. Mexico this time was in Lila , who took possession of the Covarrubias Hall of the National Theatre , and not even the thousand omens of San Pedro with its rain, placated the audience who came to see her show called Sins and Miracles . She took a bottle of Mezcal , sipped a large drink and poured some on the ground , to baptize the land of Silvio and Pablo , as she said last night to begin. With this action she also toasted " for Havana, for Cuba " . Lila had a strong desire to visit the land of immense artists and her face gained colors last night out of satisfaction. Accompanied by eight musicians, the Mexican singer gave an evening of over an hour and a half. He hits and other popular voices from her country and Latin America were heard. For its part, Downs skirted with the Mexican traditions with La martiniana and Cumbia del mole. It was exciting when the interpreter...

I want from now on , that in every corner of the house, we to be novice lovers, who learn to multiply, Maridalia Hernandez sang and the Havana public attending her last night concert at Covarrubias Hall, in National Theatre, did nothing but ovation her. Maridalia, with unparalleled charisma and communication power that excited the audience, sang ¨Para quedarte¨, her most "demanded work", which she barely remembers and always intends to remove from the list of her performances, but someone always mentions it and she must ¨ gladly interpret it .“ That hit has marked her career, dating back 32 years, and with it, she won the first prize at Viña del Mar Festival (Chile) in 1986. However, the Dominican singer wanted to make a review of her professional life in the Caribbean island. This is a land of music and she wanted to show here her way of interpreting the Cuban repertoire, hence we could appreciate the songs ¨Drume negrita¨, by Eliseo Grenet, where we saw a very personal and contagious version; ¨Vamos a ver¨, by David Torrens, and ¨A puro grito¨, by Amaury Gutierrez. This last piece is part of her album ¨Libre¨, which she is also promoting...

Emilio Vega looks at the drums and feels that Cuban identity goes with them. "These instruments come from Bejucal", the musician andproducer of Egrem record label said. There is a tradition emerging from the music we listen to and a particular sound that comes from the musical clef and the bell, aCuban melody which the members of the group have become in musical instrument. Vega confesses being a city music man, although "I like this world of rumba and conga". So he accepted without hesitation the phonographic project of Bejucal Drums and the album ¨50 son 50¨ is a tangible fact. A wide repertoire, collected into half a century of artistic work, was made available toEmilio. There, of course, the seal of the band blossomed, which is unlike the congas from Santiago de Cuba and Havana. This musical style from Bejucal carries the coupling of trumpets, trombone,clef, bell and of course, drums. "These are historical phonograms,"Emilio Vega told On Cuba, who has produced albums by Afrocuba, Muñequitos de Matanzas, Clave y Guaguancó and Yoruba Andabo. "Many people do not knowwhat Bejucal Drums are and it is extremely important people to know the riches of our music, our traditions. The historical legacy must remain for when the founders of these groups have passed away, "he noted. Pa´ que tu me llamas, El Kuini Kuini, Coco pa´ Yemaya, Mozambique No 1 and Zapateo Ñáñigo offer us a trip to African roots that is also present in our sound. The album, with a total of 13 tracks-includes an exquisite version of Schubert’s Ave Maria, where intervenes Barbara Llanes, and the luxurious closing of the marvelous ¨Suite Final de Congas Tradicionales.¨ Emilio Vega thinks there is an international market that nicely assimilates these products. "It is something exotic with very strong roots." That is why I guess the CD we recorded with Egrem between January and June last year will have an undoubted success. According to Vega the reason is simple for everyone.” There are continuators of this melody and a consciousness to preserve all this ... I am a fan of all music but when Bejucal drums sound, it is inevitable to dance."  

Emilio Vega looks at the drums and feels that Cuban identity goes with them. "These instruments come from Bejucal", the musician andproducer of Egrem record label said. There is a tradition emerging from the music we listen to and a particular sound that comes from the musical clef and the bell, aCuban melody which the members of the group have become in musical instrument. Vega confesses being a city music man, although "I like this world of rumba and conga". So he accepted without hesitation the phonographic project of Bejucal Drums and the album ¨50 son 50¨ is a tangible fact. A wide repertoire, collected into half a century of artistic work, was made available toEmilio. There, of course, the seal of the band blossomed, which is unlike the congas from Santiago de Cuba and Havana. This musical style from Bejucal carries the coupling of trumpets, trombone,clef, bell and of course, drums. "These are historical phonograms,"Emilio Vega told On Cuba, who has produced albums by Afrocuba, Muñequitos de Matanzas, Clave y Guaguancó and Yoruba Andabo. "Many people do not knowwhat Bejucal Drums are and it is extremely important people to know the riches of our music, our traditions. The historical legacy must remain for when the founders of these groups have passed away, "he noted. Pa´ que tu me llamas, El Kuini Kuini, Coco pa´ Yemaya, Mozambique No 1 and Zapateo Ñáñigo offer us a trip to African roots that is also present in our sound. The album, with a total of 13 tracks-includes an exquisite version of Schubert’s Ave Maria, where intervenes Barbara Llanes, and the luxurious closing of the marvelous ¨Suite Final de Congas Tradicionales.¨ Emilio Vega thinks there is an international market that nicely assimilates these products. "It is something exotic with very strong roots." That is why I guess the CD we recorded with Egrem between January and June last year will have an undoubted success. According to Vega the reason is simple for everyone.” There are continuators of this melody and a consciousness to preserve all this ... I am a fan of all music but when Bejucal drums sound, it is inevitable to dance."

This is not by chance. Havana has always been a meeting point for popular voices from the north hemisphere. Since the beginning of the 20thcentury many have come to this city to test themselves in its stages. Libertad Lamarque, Pedro Vargas, Nat King Cole and many more make up a long list of singers that have been tagged as “conquerors” of our musical scenarios. Just a year ago, Argelia Fragoso created a space where famous singers came together. That first edition of Popular Voices outlined a strategy designed by Fragoso which included those who tainted music from folklore. Thus, many artists met at the Lazaro Peña Theatre to represent unique musical expressions such as Colombian Totó la Momposina and Spanish folk-pop-rock group Amaral. Argelia will reedit this meeting from November 2 to 9 this year and has launched a call with many renowned artists. Mexican singer Lila Downs will delight an expert audience in Aztec arts on November 8 at the Lazaro Peña Theatre. Fragoso announced in an exclusive for OnCuba that Downs will present her disc awarded at the Latin Grammy´s. Ana Lila Downs Sánchez, born in Oaxaca, has transcended for approaching subjects like politics, social justice and immigration...

That moral of Edouard Laboulaye translated into Spanish by José Martí that knowledge is better than strength, can be used to describe the V Leo Brouwer Festival of Chamber Music. The event, which ended Sunday, has been able to show an exquisite selection of the repertoire of each concert, the quality of the performers that participated, and the cosmopolitan way of seeing the sound and in combination with all the arts. I thought about it this Sunday when, at the close of the V edition of the event, the children of the theater company The Beehive recreated that wonderful children's story reflected by our Apostle in the pages of The Golden Age magazine. With a clever choice of music and remixing the story Menique, the troops of Carlos Alberto " Tín " Cremata put a spell on the audience gathered at Havana's Karl Marx theater , and thus gave us an essential lesson : good art is enjoyed to fatigue. Although I must admit that Cremata version had some changes in tune with the times, it had a plausible answer in the auditorium, which succumbed to the vicissitudes of the protagonist and their ability to overcome the most difficult challenges....

They share many things, besides music, José Martí and Cuba which are three elements essential for the friendship that unites them. That feeling deeply Cuban brought them together in the Avellaneda hall of the National Theatre. Leo Brouwer gave us musical notes on Thursday after thirty years without doing it in public. Pablo Milanes followed him with those essential in verses by Marti : If you see a mountain of foam . The scene stunned the audience, who applauded at the novelty and the quality of interpretation of both stars of Cuban music. While Brouwer confessed minutes after the show that Pablo had asked him to accompany him, Milanes onstage offered a sample of his artistic capital commitment since recovering from pancreatitis, which recently made him suspend one of his concerts in Argentina, where he was to present Renaissance, his last phonogram. Brouwer had written version If you see a mountain of foam and, with his wife, the musicologist, Isabelle Hernandez, he thought this concert titled Love of big city, could not be complete without Pablo Milanes. It was the shortest Festival evening, however arguably one of the most intense. Paul gave color with his voice, showing still some cold...