Monday January 31 2005 - Información de Canta Cuba ya en español!
Gracias a Claudia D'Ammassa ya tenemos la información sobre Canta Cubana en español.

Paulo FG Winter Tour Cancelled!
We just received the news that the tour planned for February and March 2005 has been cancelled. It is possible that they may set up a mini-tour instead, but nothing is certain right now. We'll update you as soon as we know more.

¡La Gira de Invierno de Paulo FG Borrada!
Hemos apena recibido la noticia de que la gira de Paulo FG de febrero y marzo está borrada. Es posible que va a hacer una mini-gira, pero ahora nada es cierto. Cuando sabemos más les informaremos.

Sunday January 30 2005 - 
Canta Cuba Festival in Milan - February 13-20, 2005
Italy really seems to be the best place to be in Europe for Timba fans, and fans of Cuban music in general. In Milan next month there will be a festival of Cuban music, Canta Cuba, that including latin jazz, boleros, trova, nueva trova, afro-cuban, son, pilón and timba. From the timba perspective the big nights will be Friday - Sunday.

Friday 18 - Pachito Alonso y sus kini kini
Saturday 19 - Adalberto Álvarez
Sunday 20 - Calixto Oviedo and Paulo FG

Canta Cuba Festival en Milano - febrero 13-20, 2005

De verdad Italia parece ser el mejor lugar de estar en Europa para fanes de la timba y fanes de la música cubana en general.. En Milano el mese que viene será una festival de la música cubana, Canta Cuba, que incluye latin jazz, boleros, trova, nueva trova, afro-cubano, son, pilón y timba. De la perspectiva timbera las noches más grandes serán el viernes hasta el domingo.

el viernes 18 - Pachito Alonso y sus kini kini
el sabado 19 - Adalberto Álvarez
el domingo 20 -  Calixto Oviedo seguido por Paulo FG

Thursday January 27 2005 - Timba.com Awards in Cuba
A trip to Cuba for Timba.com is not just a vacation of sun, sand, rum and dancing; it's also hard work. One of my jobs was to track down the winners for Timba.com awards who had not yet received their prize. I was able to get a hold of Feliciano Arango, Vannia Borges, Juan Manuel Ceruto, Giraldo Piloto and La Tropical. Click the links to read a bit about each presentation and in some cases to see some short video interviews.

Note on La Tropical: They had no idea that they had won any award but I was introduced to the director of La Tropical and he seemed very pleased that the people had voted for La Tropical as Best Place to Hear Timba Live.

Premios de Timba.com  en Cuba
Un viaje a Cuba para Timba.com no es solo vacaciones con sol, arena, ron y baile; también es trabajo duro. Una de mis tareas era cazar los ganadores de premios de Timba.com que todavía no habían recibido su premio. Podía encontrar a Feliciano Arango, Vannia Borges, Juan Manuel Ceruto, Giraldo Piloto y La Tropical. Hag cliq en los links para leer un poco de cada presentación y en unos casos ver una entrevista corta en video.

Nota de La Tropical: No sabián que habían ganado ningún premio, pero me presentaron al director de La Tropical y se parecía muy contento  que la gente había votado por La Tropical como Mejor Lugar de Escuchar la Timba en Vivo.

Friday January 21 2005 - Tours section updated
We have updated the Tours section with as much information as we have at this time. The winter tours are getting underway with Charanga Habanera already halfway through it's tour. They'll be performing in Zurich, Switzerland tonight at Moods and tomorrow and Sunday in the Canary Islands. We also have updates for Adalberto Álvarez, Los Van Van, Mamborama, Manolito y su trabuco, Pachito Alonso y sus kini kini and Paulo FG. I want to thank everyone who helps us to maintain the tour section by sending us information about concerts in their areas. Please keep up the good work! And keep checking back with us for more updates as the tour plans solidify.

Interview with Leonel Limonta 

Picture by Cristian Muñoz

Speaking of tours, Azúcar Negra will be at the 2005 Air Jamaica Jazz & Blues Festival next week, and Limonta took some time out of his busy schedule to give Timba.com an update about what is happening with the band, new songs and tour plans. The interview is in WMV format for modems and broadband. The English transcription will be up soon.

El Boni and Kelly Update
I was fortunate to catch about 1 hour of rehearsal with the Hermanos Valdivia. They are working full-time to get the CD finished. They were rehearsing El Boni and Fanatica Mia while I was there. The piano tumbao to El Boni is similar enough to be recognizable but has been changed to give it a new feel, and there's an electric guitar too.

Ensayo de Boni y Kelly - hablando con Juan Manuel Ceruto

It was fascinating to watch Ebblis and Kelly working with Ceruto. I know Ebblis wrote Fanatica Mia and I could see that he has very clear ideas of what he wants to do with the song. Even if the preliminary word is Latin Pop, from what I heard at the rehearsal, I think many timba fans will also enjoy the CD. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results. I don't know the exact release plans but I do know that currently Ceruto is hard at work with the remaining 5-6 songs. 

Me pregunto lo que dijo Ceruto

Thursday January 20 2005 - Charanga Habanera kicks off their European tour in Milan/Reportaje de Milano
Claudia D'ammassa has sent us a brief report and several pictures from the Charanga Habanera concert that took place in Milan on February 13th. Pon cliq aquí para leerlo en español.