ENGLISH:  Global Cuba Fest begins in Miami Saturday, March 7 with a don't-miss lineup featuring a marathon of some of Cuba's superb young pianists (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco) followed by Volcán with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo and Armando Gola.   A Latin Fusion group from Switzerland, Lariba, closes the show.  It continues on Saturday 13-14 with Yissy García and Bandancha, an exciting new project in the current music scene in Cuba.  Bill Tilford interviewed Yissy, who is in  DC March 7,  via telephone earlier this week, and you can listen to that (in Spanish) by clicking here.   Yissy's YouTube channel is here and worth visiting. 
Fundarte's page is here. 

ESPAÑOL: Global Cuba Fest comienza en Miami el sábado 7 de marzo con una "no se lo pierda" colección de artistas ofreciendo un maratón de algunos de los pianistas jóvenes magníficos de Cuba (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán y Jorge Luis Pacheco), seguido de Volcán con Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernández, Giovanni Hidalgo y Armando Gola. Un grupo de fusión latina desde Suiza, Lariba, cierra el espectáculo. Global Cuba Fest continúa  13-14 de marzo con Yissy García y Bandancha, una nuevo proyecto emocionante en la escena musical actual en Cuba. Bill Tilford entrevistó a Yissy, que está en  DC el 07 de marzo, a través del teléfono a principios de esta semana, y para escuchar la entrevista, haga clic aquí.  El canal de Yissy en YouTube está aquí y vale la pena visitar.  
La página de Fundarte está aquí. 

L: Jorge Gómez, R: Bill Tilford, La Habana, Cuba, May 2014

ENGLISH: If you happened to watch the Conan O'Brien episode about his trip to Cuba, you would have seen him handling a guitar in the presence of a bandleader during the first few minutes. That bandleader was Jorge Gómez of Grupo Moncada, who is also a man who helped Bill Tilford get around during Cubadisco 2014.   You can see a photo gallery and learn a little more about the group here. 
ESPAÑOL:  Si le pasó a ver el episodio de Conan O'Brien sobre su viaje a Cuba, habría visto a Conan manejando una guitarra en la presencia de un líder de una banda durante los primeros minutos. Ese líder de la banda es Jorge Gómez del Grupo Moncada, que también es un hombre que ayudó a Bill Tilford a ir a muchos lugares durante Cubadisco 2014. Puede ver una galería de fotos y aprender un poco más sobre el grupo aquí.

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The 2015 Havana Rhythm and Dance Festival begins tomorrow at 8:30 pm at Teatro Mella with a tribute to drummer Chuck Silverman, who passed away unexpectedly almost a year ago. Chuck was well-known to many of the writers and readers here at Timba.com. He was a great educator and driving force behind Afro-Caribbean rhythms in drumming. Participating in this opening show and tribute are Afrocuba de Matanzas and guests; Osaìn del Monte and Rodney Barreto; Jeff Coffin`s Big Band Project and Yoruba Andabo. Havana's annual festival of drumming and dance under festival president Giraldo Piloto is a must-see event. Click here for the full program. 

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YISSY GARCIA AND BANDANCHA US TOUR
This is another of the new wave of modern Cuban music groups that are mixing Cuban music, Funk, Jazz Hip Hop and other genres successfully.  Yissy's group is also interesting for other reasons - their next album will be crowdfunded, and this may open the door for more of this activity by Cuban artists if all goes well.  They just finished in New York, will be in Knoxville, then off to DC, then Miami.   Here's a taste of recent New York concert from Yissy's You Tube channel:

GLOBAL CUBA FEST COMES TO MIAMI
March 7, 13, 14; April 11, 2015
Miami Dade County Auditorium and The Light Box at Goldman Warehouse
Opening night, March 7, features a marathon of some of Cuba's superb young pianists (Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco) followed by Volcán with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Horacio El Negro Hernandez, Giovanny Hidalgo and Armando Goia.   A Latin Fusion group from Switzerland, Lariba, closes the show.   This should be an explosive evening.  Yissy comes in on March 13-14, and Omar Sosa comes in on April 11.  For complete details, visit the Fundarte website here. 

The Kennedy Center's Millennium Stage in Washington DC will have the Harold López-Nussa, Aldo López-Gavilán and Jorge Luis Pacheco part of the program on March 8. 

We recently mentioned Septeto Santiaguero's forthcoming release, No Quiero Llanto - Tributo a Los Compadres.   Word has it that the Septeto will be premiering a video at Billboard Latin on April 28 followed by official release on May 12.  Stay tuned. 

Finally, Chicago musician/bandleader Lise Gilly went to Jazz Plaza 2014 in Havana with several other musicians including Andrea Brachfeld.  Lise was kind enough to write about her trip, and you can read her impressions of Jazz Plaza here. 

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As most cubanophiles know, Conan O'Brien recently recorded an episode in Cuba that will air on March 4th. Among other things he joined in a rueda at the popular dance club 1830. He definitely has a style all his own. Here are some spots from his web site. Below is a tourist video of Conan's dance stylings, which we can see in full on Wednesday. I especially like the "jumping jacks" move. Other current visiters to Cuba include Paris Hilton and Naomi Campbell.

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