A total of five Cuban musical productions were presented on Wednesday as part of the Grammy nominations from the Latin Recording Academy. In this edition, the jazz disc “Border- free ” by pianist Chucho Valdes competes in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album.
Read MoreThe work of the late Cuban-born musician, conductor and composer Isidro Benitez is better known in South America than in Cuba, whence the artist was forced to emigrate, in 1926, owing to the widespread and deeply-rooted racism of the time. As a black man, Benitez was denied the possibility of performing in venues that should have welcomed an artist of his stature.
Read MoreJazz, New Age, classical and Latin American folk music chords filled Havana’s old town, lending its commonly sober ambience a new spirit. The rains – which had forced organizers to set up the stage in the gateway of one of the Plaza Vieja’s colonial buildings – gave way to a pleasant clear sky. (26 photos)
Read MoreCuban jazz musician Roberto Carcasses, punished a week before for asking the authorities for free access to information and a direct vote for president during a televised public event, returned Friday to perform on a Havana stage.
Read MoreAs we might have expected from an incident as talked-about as asking for political changes in Cuba during a massive official function, musician Roberto Carcasses has become a kind of test case for political militancy on the island.
Read MoreDancers dressed in red wave a black hat in the air to scare off an imaginary snake as one of the most internationally renowned Mexican songs, “The Song of the Snake”, sounds in the background. With this, a series of dance numbers that afforded a glimpse at different Mexican traditions and the typical garments worn in different parts of the country, the Cuban ballet company Libertadores began the activities for Mexico’s Independence Day held in Havana. (30 photos)
Read MoreCuban trova icon Silvio Rodriguez announced on his blog that the ban on musician Roberto Carcasses performing on Cuban stages has been lifted. The unconfirmed news comes just over 24 hours since Carcasses said a government official had told him he wouldn’t be welcome anymore at any cultural venue in the country.
Read MoreWhen I heard Cuban musician Roberto Carcasses sing at a massive concert in Havana organized as a kind of tribute to the four Cuban agents imprisoned in the USA, the first thing I thought was that I was losing my sense of hearing and confusing wish with reality.The television cameras, all aimed at the stage, didn’t afford me a glimpse at the audience’s reaction, not even that of those standing at the front row: the relatives of the imprisoned agents, high government officials and a number of young girls who seemed to have been made to stand there to look happy.
Read MoreCuban authorities came down hard on well-known jazz-fusion musician Roberto Carcasses for the unspecified crime of criticizing the government and asking for free access to information during an official event. Today he wrote a reply to the punishment.
Read MoreCuban filmmaker Daniel Díaz Torres, 65, passed away in the early hours of Monday in Havana, product of a long illness. He achieved international notoriety for the satire “Alice in Wondertown,” 1991, with the screenplay by Eduardo del Llano.
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