Maykel Blanco Update

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor

Maykel Blanco has recently started a Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor Band page at Facebook where fans can keep up with all the latest information on what Maykel y los Mayores are up to. Go in and dale like so you can get all the important updates! Maykel has also uploaded a sneak preview of the video for the hit "Bembe", sung by Yordis, to YouTube.

Currently Maykel, Yordis and Yasser are in Lima, Peru where they will spend the rest of the month performing concerts around the city. There was some problem with the tickets for the rest of the band so they will be performing the first few concerts wth Timcuba as the backing band. According to Maykel's latest post the rest of the band will be there for concerts starting this week.

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Tuesday, 11 September 2012, 03:54 PM

Buena Fe at the Latinoamericando Festival in Milan, Italy 2012

On 18 August 2012 I finally attended a concert by a band I have been following for 10 years. Buena Fe had their Italian debut at the Latinoamericando festival, Europe's most important festival for the popular music of Latin America. Buena Fe is arguably Cuba's premier pop-rock group and their following extends throughout Latin and North America and Europe. They have a devoted fan base, including myself, which continues to grow around the world despite Cuba's lack of industrial and economic machinery to promote their artists outside their borders.

I have written a concert report with a little behind-the-scenes info including photos and video. I know that like me, many timba fans are also fans of Buena Fe. And without knowing it, some of you have heard songs written by Buena Fe's director, composer and lead singer, Israel Rojas, who has written for Boni & Kelly and who composed the hit "Mi mujer y mi ex" for Pedrito Calvo.

For those of you who are hearing the name Buena Fe for the first time, I have also made an entire Buena Fe section with history, discography, a list of bandmembers, photos, videos and my concert report Part 1 and Part 2. Take a little time to get to know these guys. You'll be glad you did. There are also links to their very well-maintained internet sites so you can follow them closely yourself.

Buena Fe's music is a mix of trova-style intelligent, beautiful lyrics set to contemporary pop-rock arrangements and liberally infused with traditional Cuban and Caribbean genres in the best spirit of Cuban musical experimentation. They have remained at the top of the music and video charts for 11 years since releasing their first CD "Déjame entrar" in 2001. Their albums consistenly win at Cubadisco and their videos are always in the top lists. In 2008 they performed at Plaza de la Revoución for a crowd of 300 000 fans. This concert was captured on DVD/CD by filmmaker Ian Padrón and also won a Cubadisco award. It seems that whatever these two guajiros from Guantanamo touch turns to gold. So without further ado I turn you over to the concert report and the rest of the Buena Fe section.

You can keep up with everything the band is doing by checking these sites regularly.
buenafemusica.com
BUENA FE (PAGINA OFICIAL) @ Facebook
Israel Rojas @ Twitter
BuenaFeMusica @ YouTube

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Sunday, 09 September 2012, 04:05 PM

Maykel Blanco

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor will be performing in Lima, Peru from September 12 through September 30. We have updated their tours page with all the dates and times of the Peru tour September 2012. They have a busy schedule so check it out and find a date that works for you!

Yordis singing "Bembe"

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Tuesday, 28 August 2012, 03:23 PM

Click here for a small gallery of photos from the concert.

Manolito y su Trabuco anno 2012

On August 16, 2012 I flew to Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden to see Manolito y su Trabuco at the city's annual festival Kulturkalaset. This is the band that first got me to listen to timba, so the Trabuco has a special place in my heart. I had not seen the band since December 2007, so nearly five years had passed. The last concert I had seen was El Noro's second concert with El Trabuco after the departure of El Indio. Since then El Noro left for Pupy y Los Que Son Son, Pepitín entered, and then Pepitín left to be replaced by Iván Rodríguez. Also Miguelito "Pan con salsa" had left and been replaced by Andy Acosta. So it was with some excitement that I set up my new camera on my unipod ready to see what the latest version of the Trabuco had to offer. Click here to read the full concert report including five video clips!