The one constant on the Havana music scene is change. José Antonio "Pepitín" Rodríguez has recently joined Manolito y Su Trabuco replacing his ex-bandmate from Salsa Mayor, El Noro, who recently left the Trabuco for Pupy y Los Que Son Son. Pepitín makes a good addition to the Trabuco, which is known for being one of the timba bands that keeps closely to son. Since the departure of El Indio, the band hasn't really had a sonero style singer. The addition of Pepitín restores the original balance of voices: sonero (Pepitín), R&B (Amaray) and rap (Lázaro)

Maykel Blanco "discovered" Pepitín singing traditional son in a bar in Old Havana. Pepitín has also performed on Cuban television with Jóvenes Clásicos del Son, and in our last Pepitín update, we reported that he has been working on some demos of traditional music. Word from Havana is that the audience is happy with Pepitín's addition to the band. I am looking forward to seeing him on the Trabuco's next European tour!

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Timberos around the world, take some time today to celebrate a tu manera with Giraldo Piloto and Klímax who are celebrating their 16th anniversary! Having just returned from a European tour there hasn't been time to plan the official celebration event; it will come soon and we will keep you updated. But for now the band is celebrating this morning with friends at Casa De la Música Miramar. Rumor has it there will be plenty of cake, ensalada y ron! I was congratulating Piloto this morning and he asked me to send a "saludo" to all the readers of Timba.com and says "Los queremos". Well Piloto, let me speak on behalf of all timberos and say we love you and your band too! Thank you for all the years of enjoyment you have brought us. We look forward to many more!

Klímax - Cannes 2010 - photo ©Patrick Bonnard, used by permission

Canadians will be happy to hear that Klímax will be performing there soon, June 3-5. All details will be posted as soon as we are fully updated.

For now let me leave you with a video from the album "Solo tú y yo"
the hit "La Permuta" sung by Leo Garrido.

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Lily y Su Sonora Clásica gave their début concert 18 January at Mosebacke in Stockholm. Lily Hernández is fast becoming one of the most sought-after lead singers in Europe, having performed with a variety of bands throughout Europe and in the United States. She is a versatile singer who is at home singing jazz, timba, salsa or son. For examples of her work you can see La Recompensa, Latin Train, Didara Band, La Liga Habanera, Richard Ortega y La Jugada, Latin Jazz Ensemble (USA 2006), and El Mena y Su Eyeife Band (Italy).

But now Lily has taken a step out on her own forming her own group, Lily y Su Sonora Clásica. Having her own orchestra allows Lily to express her passion for son but with a modern take or as she puts it: "traditional son with the energy of timba". The band is a septeto with an impressive list of musicians: Lily Hernández, Calixto Oviedo, Pepe Espinosa, Oldrich Gonzalez, Ramon Rodriguez, Oslen Ceballo, and with Yarién Oviedo and Whitney Hernández on vocals. You can check out a fan video from the first performance below.

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Sierra Maestra on tour now!

Tour season is upon us and we are starting to update the tour section for more and more groups, so keep a close eye on the tours section and send an e-mail if you know about any concerts we are missing. Currently Havana D'Primera are in Quebec where they will give two presentations,  Tiempo Libre is on tour in the US in support of their new release "My Secret Radio", and the defenders of son, Sierra Maestra are touring Europe. They will be stopping here in my hometown of Stockholm on May 7th. There is nothing as tasty as a good son, so check their full tour schedule to find a concert near you!

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