One hundred years are now being celebrated of the great Ernesto Lecuona’s La comparsa, a unique piece in the music repertoire of our country. This extraordinarily Cuban composition creates the image of a carnival dance through its notes and the intensity of its rhythm and movement.
Dedicated to the occasion and as prelude to the special concert in tribute to maestro Lecuona to be presented during the upcoming International Ballet Festival of Havana, prima ballerina assoluta Alicia Alonso and the National Museum of the Dance dedicated a special session to recall the event.
The exhibition Lecuona y la danza (Lecuona and the Dance) was inaugurated at the museum’s venue in Havana’s neighborhood of El Vedado, presenting different graphic and documentary testimonies that reflect the importance of La comparsa for music and for the Cubans. It was likewise an opportunity to recall the links of the famous Cuban composer with the dance and the works created using his music that are part of the repertoire of Ballet Nacional de Cuba.
The choreography that most approaches Lecuona and his masterpiece is Impromptu Lecuona, a ballet signed by Alicia Alonso where she uses different works by the famous creator including parts and variations of La Comparsa. A particularly unique ballet where contemporary and classic shake hands in a subtle and almost imperceptible way.
The exhibition, now open to the public, was possible thanks to the efforts and coordination by the National Museum of Music and the Museum of Dance. Also determinant was the contribution of Cuban pianist, maestro Huberal Herrera, follower of Lecuona’s legacy, who provided valuable documents.
Pedro Simón, director of the museum and of the magazine Cuba en el Ballet, underlined during the meeting that it moves to realize that “with La comparsa we are in the presence of an act of profound Cuban-ness”.
Author
José Ernesto González Mosquera 
