Omara Portuondo played Berkeley's Freight & Salvage last week with an all-star group featuring Rolando Luna, Rodney Barreto, Gastón Joya and Andrés Cuayo. Click here for the full gallery. 

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Daymé Arocena's USA tour in support of her new release Cubafonía is already underway.    A must-see in her own right, and her backing band is a bonus with some of the best of Cuba's new generation of musicians.  One of them, drummer Ruly Herrera, has already won awards in Cuba with his own group Real Project.  Here's a taste of her live......

AND, COMING VERY SOON.... .


Pedrito Martínez kicks off his Spring 2018 Tour in Evanston, Illinois, right next door to Chicago.  Pedrito has graced these pages many times and puts on a killer set. 

In other news, Feliciano Arango of Los Hermanos Arango tells us that  they are back in the studio with a new album to come.   More details in the future.  If you aren't hip to this group, they are a fascinating mix of authentic Afocuban roots and modern fusion.   This is them at a concert at Berklee interacting with student musicians a few years ago:

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ENGLISH:  The International Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob day will take place in various places across the planet on April 7, 2018 at 1600 hours  local time.  Thousands of dancers will be dancing simultaneously for 10 minutes.   To learn more about this event and how you can participate, visit the International Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob Day website.
ESPAÑOL:   El Día Internacional de Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob tendrá lugar en varios lugares del planeta el 7 de abril de 2018 a las 16:00 hora local. Miles de bailarines bailarán simultáneamente durante 10 minutos. Para obtener más información sobre este evento y cómo puede participar, visite el sitio web de El Día International de Rueda de Casino Multi Flash Mob.

ENGLISH: For your enjoyment, we include two additional videos, one by Grupo Moncada, a passionate  defender of Rueda de Casino in Cuba (above) and the second by Adalberto Álvarez y su Son (below)
ESPAÑOL: Para su disfrute, incluimos dos videos adicionales, uno del Grupo Moncada, un  defensor apasionado de Rueda de Casino en Cuba (por arriba), y el otro del Adalberto Álvarez y su Son (por abajo)

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Calixto Oviedo, timbero por excelencia, is bringing his Cuban Jazz Train to Copenhagen's legendary Jazzhus Montmartre for three consecutive shows starting tomorrow, April 5-April 7. Calixto has been touring Europe and below you can check out a video of a recent concert at Nefertiti in Gothenburg, Sweden. As always, Calixto is collaborating with the best. Check out the line-up below. Visit Jazzhus Montmartres webpage to book a table and buy tickets.

Calixto Oviedo (drums / Cuba)
Lily Hernandez (vocal / Cuba)
Fredrik Kronkvist (alto sax / Sweden)
Abel Marcel (piano / Cuba)
Yasser Pino (bass / Cuba)
Eliel Lazo (percussion / Cuba)

On April 10th the Cuban Jazz Train will be stopping at Yoshi's in Oakland. Doors open at 7:30pm. Visit Yoshi's website to get your ticket.

Calixto Oviedo
Lily Hernandez
Oscar Hernandez
Oskar Cartaya
Frank Fontaine
Joey D'Leon

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