Juan de Marcos &amp; Afro-Cuban All Stars

Afro-Cuban All Stars Tour

ENGLISH: Grammy-winner Juan de Marcos and his Afro-Cuban All Stars begin their 2018 winter tour on Wednesday, January 10th in the frigid North Eastern US with concerts in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. The US leg of the tour will also take them to California and Georgia. The European Tour will run from January 1 through February 1st. Click here for all the tour dates.

The tour is in support of the Afro-Cuban All Stars' eighth Album - "Absolutely Live II - Viva Mexico!" - a CD + DVD released in 2017. You can check out one of the videos from the album below. Don't miss this opportunity to bring some Caribbean heat to your winter!

ESPAÑOL: Ganador del Grammy Juan de Marcos y sus Afro-Cuban All Stars comienzan su gira de invierno de 2018 el miércoles, 10 de enero en el glacial noreste de los EE.UU. con conciertos en Nueva Jersey, Nueva York, Pensilvania y Massachusetts. La etapa estadounidense de la gira también los llevará a California y Georgia. El Tour Europeo se desarrollará desde el 1 de enero hasta el 1 de febrero. Haga clic aquí para ver todas las fechas de la gira.

La gira es en apoyo del octavo álbum Afro-Cuban All Stars - "Absolutely Live II - ¡Viva México!" - un CD + DVD lanzado en 2017. Puede ver uno de los videos del álbum a continuación. ¡No pierda esta oportunidad de traer algo de calor caribeño a su invierno!

Thursday, 25 July 2024, 12:05 AM

Festival de la Salsa en Cuba 2018

The 2018 Festival de la Salsa en Cuba is almost upon us and, as with previous years, I will be unable to attend. Fortunately, the Facebook page shares a lot of good photos and videos, so I will follow along there. Also as with previous years there is an all-star line-up for the nightly concerts as well as music and dance workshops, DJ parties and After Parties. This year also includes an excursion in Havana to important places for Cuban musical and cultural production under the guidance of none other than Pedro Lázaro Ordoñez - better known as Papucho, bassist and bandleader of Manana Club.

Participants can buy complete passes for all events and concerts, concert-only passes or a day pass that is good from 5pm for one day only. The after parties are not included in any of the passes but are something you don't want to miss with animations, DJs, and separate dance floors for traditional versus contemporary music. Foreigners will not be able to attend events this year by buying tickets in moneda nacional, but you can purchase your tickets by following this link.

Concert Schedule
21st	Wil Campa
22nd	Yasser Ramos y su Tumbao Mayombe El Niño y la Verdad Papucho y Manana Club Havana D'Primera
23rd	Alain Pérez Bamboleo Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son Pupy y Los Que Son Son
24th	Haila Mompié Giraldo Piloto y Klímax El Noro y 1ra Clase Los Van Van
25th	Combinación Cubana Paulo F.G. Manolito y Su Trabuco Maykel Blanco y Su Salsa Mayor

For more information check out Festival de la Salsa en Cuba @Facebook.

Festival de la Salsa en Cuba 2018 program

Thursday, 25 July 2024, 12:05 AM

Elito Revé

ENGLISH: Elito Revé y Su Charangón are in Europe today to begin their 2018 Winter Tour. Tomorrow they play at the Cubayonne festival in Bayonne, France. The tour takes them to France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Check here for concert dates, and even if they won't be visiting your country, it is worth a timba trip to see this line-up. For some of us it is our first opportunity to see El Indio live since his return to the band. And of course Dagoberto, Yera, and the lovely Susel - who you can enjoy in the video below - will also be there.

Other tours that are currently underway in Europe include Jacob Forever and La Charanga Habanera.

ESPAÑOL: Elito Revé y Su Charangón están hoy en Europa para comenzar su Gira de Invierno 2018. Mañana tocarán en el festival Cubayonne en Bayona, Francia. La gira los lleva a Francia, España, Alemania, Italia y Suiza. Consulte aquí las fechas de los conciertos e incluso si no van a visitar su país, vale la pena hacer un viaje timbero para ver este grupo de integrantes. Para algunos de nosotros es nuestra primera oportunidad de ver a El Indio en vivo desde su regreso a la banda. Y, por supuesto estarán Dagoberto, Yera y la adorable Susel, de la que puedes disfrutar en el siguiente video.

Otros tours que ahora se están llevando a cabo en Europa incluyen a Jacob Forever y La Charanga Habanera.

Thursday, 25 July 2024, 12:05 AM

Para leer la entrevista en Español haz clic aquí.

Rumba y Candela 8

Rumba y Candela 8 is underway today in Strasbourg, France. It is the first of the Cuban festivals in France in 2018. You can keep up with what is happening in France by following Les Festivals Cubains en France at Facebook

The festival includes dance workshops in afro-cuban and casino as well as parties with live music. Tonight Harold Lopez-Nussa trio wil play. Tomorrow Yanesito & Soneros All Stars and on Sunday Elito Revé y Su Charangón. Click here for the rest of the concert dates for Orquesta Revé.

I was planning to go to this festival myself but was not able to in the end. But since this is the first time that Soneros All Stars have performed down in continental Europe, I asked bandleader, bassist and tresero Yanesito (Jan Miklos Bogdan) a few questions on the eve of the band's departure for France.

Jan "Yanesito" Bogdan Photo courtesy of Soneros All Stars Facebook

How does it feel to finally get down to the continent with your group?

It feels great, but I'm also a bit nervous because the whole band has not played together yet. Everyone has been practicing. But we are musicians who are used to adapting and meeting at the soundcheck to rehearse for a couple of hours and then have a fantastic concert in the evening ... haha! The most important thing in Cuban music is the heart and the rhythm. We're going to have fun!

Tell me about the musicians - It's a must be fun to be reunited with Pepito. Have you worked with Alexander "El Caballo Grande" before?

Yes, I have played with Alex at Nefertiti in Gothenburg together with Raúl Lara y Sus Soneros, that show reminds us of what we are going to do on Friday at RYC8 - musicians from different countries/cities get together and just go for it. It requires a lot from everyone and Alex was fantastic, he's a real sonero.

It's been almost exactly 10 years since I worked with Cesar Pedroso in Egrem studio 101 in Centro Habana to record the album "La Timba Soy Yo". It was the first time I met Pepito. At first everything got a little strange. I had chosen Mandy, Sinsonte and Cristina Azcuy to lead and was still looking for another singer. I didn't want the album to sound too much like Pupy Y Los Que Son Son, so I didn't choose Pepito as lead singer but tried to find someone else. After taking with Pupy, Bombon and Sinsonte (all of whom had an important role in production), we chose Pepito. I already knew that Pepito was awesome, so it was natural to bring him in. I have a very good impression of Pepito, he is not only a singer, he also plays guitar. He keeps up on what's going on in music. And not least, his voice is the style I like, brutal output ... sonero/timba, but he also has the softer and gentler voice that suits boleros. I like him, and look forward to working with him live.

I will also bring Raciel Enrique Garces Espinosa with me on lead and coros. He is a Cuban guy who's lived in Sweden maybe 10 years? I don't know exactly. But I've met him through my "brother" Richard Ortega when we worked with Richard Ortega y La Jugada. Raciel is a sonero I love to work with.

Richard Ortega, he is my "brother". There are some men here in the world who understand how you work, how you think, how you are, and that's the kind of guy Richard is. Richard is a rumbero, and he loves jazz. When I play with him, I feel good. When I play with him, I'm Cuban.

I have also chosen to bring two musicians from Gothenburg, because just like me they love Cuban music and are very good friends: Raúl Lara and Rubens Millet Herrera. I was nominated for a GRAMMY with Raúl Lara for his album "Soy Cubano" in the BEST TROPICAL LATIN ALBUM category. Rubens is a great percussionist that I love working with.

On drums, Michel Ortiz Acosta .- a killer percussionist, killer drummer and a real timbero. He is one of those musicians you always want to bring along.

Of course, I have Sweden's best Cuban brass:
Petter Linde - Trumpet
Filip Olandersson - Trumpet
Nikolas Viisanen - Trombone
Johan Åström - Trombone

If you're not familiar with the Soneros All Stars, check out the latest release "El Que Corta El Bacalao".