Technical difficulties with a field recorder prevented an in situ recording, but after the Haila concert in Louisville, Bill Tilford and drummer/bandleader Edel Roque subsequently went back and had a brief recorded telephone conversation about the concert and about Edel's  group, the Kentucky Salsa All Stars, an excellent 12-piece ensemble composed mostly of young musicians educated in Cuba. You can hear a recording of that conversation (in English) here.  Click "continue reading" for more - including Gente d'Zona.

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                                                                photos by Tom Ehrlich

Tom said Haila was fabulous at Roccapulco - click continue reading for more photos from last night and click here for tickets to tonight's show. Opening the show will be rumba with Mikhail.

La Peña Cultural Center is having a celebration of the recent Cuban breakthrough here.

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This one traces the roots of David Calzado and Charanga Habana from the 1950s to the Suspension Concert to the Charanga Forever split to the arrival of piano tumbao master extraordinaire - Tirso Duarte.

In other news, Haila Mompié plays San Francisco's Roccapulco tonight and tomorrow night.

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ENGLISH:  As a Chicagoan, it pains me to say this, but the fact that some artists from Cuba are performing in Louisville instead of Chicago (as opposed to performing in both cities) says things about both places.  This being said, I always enjoy a good excuse to visit Louisville, and Haila provided an excellent one, as did her local backing band, the Kentucky Salsa All Stars.  You can read more and see a gallery of photos here...  
Haila is touring a few cities using different local talent in each place.  As Mayito Rivera has already demonstrated, the talent pool now exists in a few places like Miami, New York and yes, Louisville, to name just three examples, to make this possible for a singer when that artist is the center of the performance (however, we are unlikely to see this happen with an ensemble like Klimax). She will be in Houston on New Years Eve and in San Francisco January 3-4.  Miami was also on her itinerary during this tour.  
The same club that presented Haila, Coconut Beach, will be presenting Gente d'Zona on January 9.  

ESPAÑOL: Como ciudadano de Chicago, me duele decirlo, pero el hecho de que algunos artistas de Cuba están dando conciertos en Louisville en vez de Chicago (en oposición a tocar en ambas ciudades) dice cosas sobre ambos lugares. Dicho esto, siempre me gusta una buena excusa para visitar Louisville, y Haila me dió una excusa excelente, junto con su grupo  de acompánamiento lugareño, las Kentucky Salsa All Stars. Puedes leer más y ver una galería de fotos aquí ...  
Haila está de gira por algunas ciudades utilizando diferentes talentos locales en cada lugar. Como Mayito Rivera ya ha demostrado, la reserva de talento ahora existe en algunos lugares como Miami, Nueva York y sí, Louisville, por citar sólo tres ejemplos, para que esto sea posible para un cantante cuando ese artista es el centro de la actuación (sin embargo, es poco probable que esto pueda suceder con un grupo como Klimax). Ella estará en Houston la Nochevieja y en San Francisco para dos noches (3-4 de enero). Miami también era parte de su itinerario durante esta gira.
El mismo club que presentó a Haila, Coconut Beach, presentará a Gente d'Zona el 9 de enero.

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