In January 2011 Cuba's hottest new band Havana D'Primera was in the studio working on their second CD. Gabriel Wilder and Martin Karakas stopped by to interview bandleader Alexander Abreu. The result was a facinating and candid look at how the band works and what they are trying to accomplish. Check it out and check out Yemayá's Verse for more Havana D'Primera photos, video and concert reports from her stay in Havana. The interview is in English y Español.

Click here for HDP Interview in English - Oprima aquí para la entrevista de HDP en Español

Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera at Casa de la Música Miramar
Photo courtesy of Gabriel Wilder

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Today Maykel Blanco & Salsa Mayor finish their short tour of Peru with a concert at Havana Latin Disco. The band has had a successful stay in Lima and fans are enjoying the powerful show, although the front line seems to only include Yasser and Yordi. Maykel & the band have a full schedule returning to Havana tomorrow where they have a Valentine's Day concert at Casa de la Música Galiano. The European Winter Tour 2011 begins on March 16 so stay tuned, because we will be posting the concert dates as soon as they are all confirmed. 

Update: Chico Timba Peru has uploaded some video from the concert on Friday. It always warms my heart to see the excitement and joy when fans get to see a band for the first time. The Peruanos love la nueva máquina de Cuba!

In the meantime Gabriel from Yemayá's Verse is recently returned from Havana and has provided us with this picture of the new singers, including Michel Pérez and Liuban who seem not to have gone to Lima.Check her blog for all kinds of photos, video and updates from Havana.

Salsa Mayor Singers 2011 - photo courtesy of Gabriel Wilder

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http://salsaruedafestival.com - February 17-20 - San Francisco
REGISTER

This year the festival includes:
*   50 Intermediate and Advanced Workshops in Rueda, Casino, Son, Afro-Cuban Folkloric and more
*   4 nights of parties with 3 Live Timba Bands, 3 DJ's, Dance Performances, and social dancing.
*   A Beginners Track in a full ballroom with two hour classes with the same teacher.
*    Instructors Track. A seperate class for the teachers and the T.A.s in the Casino community. 
*   4-5 classes to choose from every hour. Beginners Track, 2 Int level ballrooms, 1 Advanced level
*   After-Party Space with DJ. Party till 5 in the morning!!
*   Private Lesson Area. Book with your favorite instructor

Say hello to Nick & Serena from Salsa Vale Todo and thank them for their support of Cuban music.

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Volume 10 of Beyond Salsa Piano is almost done! It'll be the first on Pupy Pedroso and pick up his career with Van Van in 1979, when he began to write his first songs. 

We'll go chronologically through Van Van history, covering all the songs Pupy wrote, plus a selection of other classics with interesting piano tumbaos.

When we hit a song, like Hoy se cumplen seis semanas, that was re-recorded later, we cover both versions.

One difference this time is that bass tumbaos are included, so instead of having the audio file pan the right hand to the right and the left hand to the left, the entire piano is panned hard right while the bass is hard left, so you can practice along with the bass by turning your balance control all the way to the right.

There's also a full cuerpo arrangement, and a transcribed solo. 

Melón Clinics: Don't forget that Melón will be in Los Angeles starting Feb. 28th to give at least one clinic and will also be available for private lessons. Click here for more on the Melón books.

           photo by Tom Ehrlich

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