Some tips to understanding how a popular dance music group can remain as the absolute first place for fifty years in a country like Cuba which is full of music, dances and other bands of every possible format. On December 4th, 1969, when Juan Formell premiered Los Van Van Orchestra on 23rd St., between O and P St., in the middle of La … [Read more...] about Van Van es huge deal
Music
Vieja Trova Santiaguera. The Oldest Boy Band in the World (2nd Part)
The name Any person involved in these matters knows how hard it is to find a name that is appropriate, ecumenical, representative, commercial, and with all those features that a band, aspiring to success, is supposed to have. Ten or twelve possible combinations were suggested, including the one by Jon Intxaustegi "Los amigos de Machín", not bad, but the "old men" did not buy … [Read more...] about Vieja Trova Santiaguera. The Oldest Boy Band in the World (2nd Part)
Vieja Trova Santiaguera. The Oldest Boy Band in the World (1st Part)
The sun always reached the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba before Havana city and its famous neighborhoods. The same happened with trova and the Casa de la Trova, with son and the best rum of the world. Santiagueros are very proud of their things and their memories. The story I tell you is part of that pride. It's just an intimate, personal look, from my deepest Habanero's … [Read more...] about Vieja Trova Santiaguera. The Oldest Boy Band in the World (1st Part)
John Lennon Sitting at a Park in Havana City
A park named after rock Havana is not a city of many parks. Other Latin American capitals surpass it by far, even some of the cities in country, like Holguín and Sancti Spíritus. But something in favor of Havana is that most of its parks have interesting stories to tell, they have the same original design of other times and that romantic air of Spanish tradition. It's a … [Read more...] about John Lennon Sitting at a Park in Havana City
Alicia Alonso. The miracle of classical ballet on the island of rumba.
Among the surprises that impress foreigners the most when attending classical ballet performances in Cuba are the quality of its male and female dancers, the polished staged performances, the dancing culture of the local people, and the singular and intense way of enjoying it all. Since 1948, one question has been in the air amidst dance critics, iconic European and … [Read more...] about Alicia Alonso. The miracle of classical ballet on the island of rumba.