Saturday April 26 2008 - Another Anniversary during International Timba Month!
It's no wonder April is International Timba Month, yet another band has celebrated an anniversay. Klímax is now 13 years old and will be releasing their 6th studio CD in May. The new CD includes Dale cuatro malas which has been played for about a year now as well as the latest single, La permuta.

Monday April 21 2008 - How Are You Celebrating International Timba Month?
Here in Stockholm we celebrated with a concert by Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son on April 12 (report to follow). In Canada they celebrated last weekend with Bamboleo in Toronto and Quebec City. Check Billy Bryans' blog for the details.

Tour Updates
The details are still very sketchy but we have a few more dates for groups such as Maraca, Charanga Habanera, and Orquesta Revé. Keep checking out the Tours section because we will be constantly updating. If you know about any concerts that we haven't listed, please send an e-mail.

Sunday April 20 2008 - Soneros All Stars - La Timba Soy Yo
I really enjoyed Soneros All Stars first CD, Dime Nagüe, and after four years they are back with their next release, La Timba Soy Yo. Soneros All Stars is a project by Swedish tresero Janne Bogdan. The CD will be back from press next week, but you can already listen to the MP3s. I am very pleased with what I hear, and what's not to like? The new CD features Pupy Pedroso on piano, and on vocals Cristina Azcuy, Sinsonte, Mandy and Pepito. For more information about the CD and the full list of musicians see www.soneros-all-stars.com.

Saturday April 12 2008 - Salsa Mayor in the Studio and on Their Way to Europe
Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor started recording ther next CD last week. Maykel tells us that very soon fans will be dancing to numbers such as La balacera, Llévala, Adivina papá, Marisela and Si le gusta repite. I have already seen both Adivina papá and Si le gusta repite performed live and have heard Marisela various times in rehearsal and can tell you that Salsa Mayor continues to produce true Cuban timba made for the dancers.

I have no doubt that the new CD will be another triumph for the group. It should also include Ella dice and Anda pégate, the hit singles that swept Europe during 2007, um...no pun intended with the barriendo coro. The video for Anda pégate has been at number 9 on the Piso 6 top ten countdown for the past few weeks. Check muchoswing.com for weekly Piso 6 episodes.

Hopefully the new CD will be out in time for their summer tour which runs from July 1 through July 31. The first date that I have for Salsa Mayor this summer is July 13 at the Carnival de Salsa festival in Poland. Keep checking back with us as the summer tour plans solidify.

Carnival de Cuba 2008 June 28-29
London's annual Carnival de Cuba will feature La Charanga Habanera as headliners both days. At first I was worried about the effect Juventino's stripping would have on the mild mannered British public, but then I remembered that this is the country that brought us "The Full Monty", so I think it will be well received.

MC-ing the event will be Ricardo Leyva, director of Sur Caribe. The carnival will also feature reggaeton and hip-hop with Emenecia Clasica and Telmary. Participating from the UK are Osvaldo Chacón y su Timba, Tumbao Tivoli and the reggaeton groups Papo Record and Kid Afrika.

Friday April 11 2008 - Azúcar Negra celebrates 10th anniversary
In addition to being International Timba Month, April is the anniversary month for both NG La Banda, as we reported earlier, as well as Azúcar Negra. The band celebrated its 10-year anniversary on April 8. Clave Cubana threw a party for Azúcar Negra at El Diablo Tun Tun and on the 9th Azúcar Negra played at Salon Rojo del Capri where, word has it, the rum flowed freely that night.

The big celebration will be held April 19th at La Tribuna and will feature the participation  of Haila Mompie and Juan Formell y Los Van Van.

Today Azúcar Negra is in the studio recording the coros for the new CD.

2008 Cubadisco Nominees Announced
On April 1st, the nominees for Cubadisco 2008 were announced. The contemporary popular dance music category is of particular interest to timberos. The nominees are:
El mundo se acabo Mañengo - La Charanga Habanera
Mil razones - Suena cubano
Fresquecito - Elito Revé y su Charangón
Me mantengo -  Taínos de Mayarí
Mamborama - Directamente al mambo

Click here to see the entire list of Cubadisco nominees for 2008. Cubadisco will take place this year from May 17-25 and the theme is Africa and the Diaspora.

Paulo FG in Mexico
Paulo was originally scheduled to do some concerts in February but they were cancelled and rescheduled for April. Unfortunately we're a little late with the news. He performed the 3rd, 4th and 5th at Mamarumba Loreto and the 10th, 11th, and 12th at Mamarumba in Roma Queretaro. If you hurry you can catch him there tonight or tomorrow. The cover is 120 pesos and the concerts start at 10pm.

Thursday April 10 2008 - La Habana Me Llama Video Underway
On the eve of their summer European tour  Manolito y Su Trabuco are ready to start filming the video of the title track from the soon-to-be-released CD La Habana me llama. The CD itself is under production and will be out very soon.

Sunday April 6 2008 - Timba Celebrates 20 Years with NG La Banda
Twenty years ago on April 4th a group of creative musicians got together under the leadership of José Luis Cortés "El Tosco" and formed NG La Banda. In a recent interview on Piso 6 (see muchoswing.com) El Tosco said that everyone agreed that if the band wasn't successful within two years, they would break up, or as he put it "calabaza, calabaza cada uno pa' su casa". Fortunately for all of us, the band was a hit, and with the birth of NG La Banda came the dawn of the music that has profoundly touched the lives of timberos around the world.

NG La Banda has been celebrating their 20th anniversary by touring the neighborhoods of Havana. Last night was the main event with a concert in Plaza de la Revolución featuring the participation of Los Van Van, la Charanga Habanera, Bamboleo, Manolito y Su Trabuco and Pachito Alonso y Sus Kini Kini.

Timba.com congratulates and thanks El Tosco and NG La Banda, all members old and new, for the tremendous gift they have given us.

April Declared International Timba Month!
Those of us not fortunate enough to be in Havana for the concert can still celebrate. By the authority vested in me, by...um...myself, I am officially declaring April International Timba Month! It's high time we congratulate ourselves on our excellent taste in music and dance. So bake yourself a cake, invite your friends over, put on your Échale Limón CD and spend a few hours dancing casino, son, rueda, rumba or just analyzing gears to the fundadores de la timba.

La Nacimiento de la Timba - NG La Banda

Vintage NG La Banda - Te confunde ser esa mujer