We spent some time with the young actress Danae Hernández, talking about her aspirations for the future and the experiences that have marked her growing career in film, TV and theater. “In Cuba, television is the medium that brings you the greatest recognition among the population. People see you on the street and they greet you as if they’d known you for their whole life,” she told HT.
Cuban troubadour Yolo Bonilla shares with us the details of his latest album, the first to ever achieve a fusion of Cuban music and the Brazilian style by rendering original versions of songs in the Portuguese language. “The idea came to me after a concert that was supposed to be a kind of farewell performance.”
Lyric singing marked the beginning of Orley Cruz’s artistic career as a soloist in performances staged by Cuba’s National Lyric Theater, a company he later left in order to start a new path in singing. “I had my first experience on a stage at the age of five during a children’s festival.”
Joel Suarez, one of the few Cuban dancers who has managed to join a leading company in Europe, shares his experiences and views on the preparation that dancers currently go through in Cuba compared to dancers worldwide.
Young Spanish singer Paskual Kantero arrived in Cuba — to sing and love — belonging to the latest generation of trova artists who has also received the support of his well-recognized countryman – singer Luis Eduardo Aute.
Linnet Gonzalez started professionally as a member of the National Ballet of Cuba and later she decided to pursue a career abroad. She went on to dance with the most important company in Belgium as a soloist in major classical roles, eventually returning to the island to pursue a significant dancing career.
According to 34-year-old Cuban jazz pianist Rolando Luna: I’ve always known that I was privileged. My first experience backing up a singer was when I was only 15. That was with none other than the great Omara Portuondo.“
“The reality of a dancer is as complex as that any other person’s. I know that people imagine dancers to be like those porcelain dolls that break if you squeeze them a little, or maybe like women who are somewhat stretched,” said Patricia Hernandez in her interview with HT.
The Cuban-Japanese duo ExCorde is formed by Yacel Sagarra and Aya Hashimoto. “Promoting our work has become a challenge, between the fierce consumerism of reggaeton and the lack of backing from an officially recognized promotion company.”
Cuban actor Caleb Casas lives and works as an actor in Colombia, a country with many cultural ties to Cuba. “I’m in another country making a living at what really makes me feel realized,” he told HT in his interview in Havana.