MB & Salsa Mayor "A toda máquina"

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor "A Toda Máquina" Timberas y timberos...finally the new Maykel Blanco & Salsa Mayor CD, "A toda máquina", is out at iTunes and just in time for the holidays! It contains 13 songs including the hit "El songo de todos" featuring guest singers and a potpurri to close the album. This is the holiday gift for all the timberos you know, and get one for yourself while you're at it! I don't know if the hardcopy will be out in time for Christmas, but one can always start with the MP3 and get the hardcopy later.

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viernes, 16 noviembre 2012, 07:07 pm

Buena Fe

On the eve of their national tour, Buena Fe has released the video "Pablo" from the film of the same name. It was shot on location in Camagüey. The tour begins tomorrow in Santa Clara and for the month of November the band will be heading to Eastern Cuba for 10 concerts, including free concerts in Holguín, Guantanamo and Santiago de Cuba, where the people are still recovering from the severe damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. The band will also perfrom at the Festival Aragua in Maracay, Venezuela on December 2nd and will then return to complete the national tour which will end on December 20th on the steps of the University of Havana as part of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the University Student Federation (FEU).

During the tour, Buena Fe will be presenting songs from their new CD, "Dial". For more information about the video, the new CD and the tour, check out the interview with Israel Rojas at Suena Cubano. Follow them at Buena Fe (Página Oficial) on Facebook.

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viernes, 09 noviembre 2012, 01:32 pm

I am so excited! I just watched the teaser for the soon-to-be-released documentary of Michel Mirabal's "Créeme" project that was held during the Bienal in Havana this summer. This work is a collaboration between some members of what I see as Havana's artistic elite. Michel Mirabal is one of Cuba's most recognized young artists and has held exhibitions in the US in Miami, L.A. and Chicago, as well as in Paris, France; Buenos Aires, Argentina and Bogota, Colombia. His collection includes the Rockefeller family, Donald Trump, Mohammed Ali, Carlos Santana and author Gabriel Garcia Márquez, among others.

For "Créeme" he teamed up with Havana's hip-hop community. They composed and recorded songs inspired by Michel's work, including a fantastic hip-hop remake of one of my favorite Buena Fe songs "Soy" with Raudel from Escuadrón Patriota and Israel Rojas of Buena Fe. Other artists included Silvito El Libre, Maykel Xtremo, Soandry Hermanos de Causa, Carlitos Mucha Rima, Bárbaro el Urbano Vargas and Al2. To top it all off was the biggest name in Cuban music: Juan Formell & Los Van Van. The entire event was documented by another of the young guns of the Havana artistic community: filmmaker Ian Padrón. Padrón has been on the leading edge of socially conscious filmmaking with works such as the award winning movie "Havanastation", the groundbreaking video of "Ser de sol" by Buena Fe & Descemer Bueno and with audiovisual of this historic concert. They are currently subtitling and editing the DVD, which I hope will be ready in time to make it into my stocking as a Christmas gift! So check out the teaser here and keep an eye out for the DVD release!

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jueves, 08 noviembre 2012, 03:46 pm

Update: The Union City New Jersey gig has now been resceduled for December 1st! As those of you in the US prepare for the upcoming Havana D'Primera tour, DJ Mandy from Casa de la Música Miramar has released exclusive video of Havana D'Primera performing the new single "La Bailarina". It's still in the early stages and is an excellent example of how the Cuban bands test songs out on live audiences as they are developing them. This song is just a collection of coros and mambos and gears right now. It will be interesting to see how the final version turns out. Click here for the current list of concert dates in the US.

La Bailarina - new song in the works