On February 6, 2010 I attended the release concert for Contrabando's second CD, "Abriendo Caminos". Located in Belguim, Contrabando is dedicated to spreading Cuban music and culture in Europe with a repertoire of original songs and arrangements that range from son to timba to fusion of Cuban rhythms with other Caribbean genres. The band has been working hard and paid their dues and have developed a steady following. The release concert was a celebration of the completion of this project and the beginning of the next stage in the band's development. The full concert report including video clips will follow soon. In the meantime here is a short interview with director and trombonist Andrés Fernández "El Paísa" with English subtitles!

Since the first decade of the new century is coming to a close, I decided it was time to go high-tech. I bought a program that easily adds subtitles to videos. So now both Spanish and English speaking fans will be able to enjoy the interviews! Click here or on the image above to watch the video. And stay tuned for the complete concert report.

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I am still way behind on my projects due to my five-week vacation, but I have finally published my review of "Animals of Cuban Music: salsa vs reggaeton", Jen Paz's second documentary in her contemporary Cuban music series. The DVD has been out since fall 2009 and really should have been on the gift list of all fans of Cuban music, no matter whether you like timba or reggeaton. For me the documentary is not about trying to convince anyone that one is better than the other or to make fans out of anyone. It is just an honest, unadorned look at what is really happening in Havana today. It also happens to be full of excellent concert footage from both timba and reggaeton concerts.  It is a must-see film for anyone who wants to keep up with the Cuban music scene of today. To read the full review click here.

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Leonel Limonta tells us that the band is planning to be in Miami in March but they are still waiting for a  concrete date. When the first concert is confirmed we will post the information here. In a piece of Timba.com trivia, Azúcar Negra has a long history with Timba.com and it was largely because of the Azúcar Negra US Tour of 2000 that Timba.com developed from being an odd assortment of audio samples scraped together by Kevin into what we are today. Even as Timba.com has developed over the years, so has Azúcar Negra been through several changes having had  important female vocalists such as Haila Mompie, Monica Mesa, Tanya Pantoja, Biunaikis Marquetti and the current leading lady the lovely Ailyn Dalleras.

Ailyn was only 17 when she joined the band and 19 when she shouldered the role of lead female vocalist. She has always had a beautiful voice but with the years she has also developed a professionalism and a charismatic stage presence. Now at the ripe old age of 23 she will be hitting "El Yuma" for the first time. But Ailyn isn't the only singer. The ladies will enjoy Dayan, ex-Charanga Forever, who has a great voice and is an excellent dancer. He adds a shot of testosterone-loaded energy to the band. Speaking of Ailyn and Dayan, Gabriel from Yemayá's Verse in her 2009 Havana Report said: "Limonta must have two of the most charismatic singers in Havana in those two", and Gabriel is one of the most hard-to-impress people I know, so don't miss it when Azúcar Negra hits the States.

Azúcar Negra - "Con un canto en el pecho"
from the CD "Exceso de equipaje"

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Tumbao Habana's long-awaited CD, Mambo duro, is finally available to the general public. The CD was supposed to be released in the summer of 2009 but was delayed. It was available this fall in France but it wasn't until December that it came out in the rest of the world. We will have a full CD review soon but for the moment I will say that it has some killer tracks on it such as my personal favorite "Padrino", the title track "Mambo duro" and a new version of the beautiful anthem "A la familia cubana", this time as a duet with guest singer Alexander Abreu. 

As with past CDs, bandleader Pascualito Cabrejas has put together an album with a mix of music styles ranging from timba to son to bachata to ballad, which makes this a CD you can take with you to "latin" parties since it has a little something for everyone. Stay tuned for the full review. in the meantime here is the track list.

Track list: 
Y tu quisieras saber 
Padrino 
A la familia cubana (with Alexander Abreu) 
No hay como mi son (son)
No me conformo (bachata)
Ella no tiene na' 
Candela 
Mambo duro 
Devuelveme la vida (ballad)
No te rompas la cabeza 
De que lado esta la luna 
La nena

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