Thursday October 28, 2004 - Clan 537 signs contract with Sony
It is confirmed that Clan 537 has signed a contract with Sony France for France, Switzerland and Belgium. The first single will be presented in January with "Qué te pasa". And in the meantime they will be touring Spain from Nov. 19 - Dec. 19. We'll have the final dates and venues on their tours page as soon as we get them. 

Sunday October 24, 2004 - Lo que quiero es fiesta
La Barriada recently finished their European tour bringing their mix of timba with a touch of cumbia, merengue and bachata to Stockholm. Their philosophy is the give the audience a party and that's what they did this night. Click here for the concert report and some pictures. An interview with Juan Kemell will be up at Timba.com soon as well, so check back with us. 

Juan De Marcos - bringing timba to a wider audience
The Afro-Cuban All Stars have finished their tour of Canada and are now reported to be in the studio recording their next album. What is most interesting from the timbero point of view is that on recent tours Juan de Marcos has included some timba in addition to the traditional Cuban music. This is where traditional and contemporary Cuban dance music meet, and is bringing the music we love to an entirely new audience. Here are some comments from Cristian Muñoz who had the honor of participating in the tour as the official photographer.

"The concerts follow the same format as always,... B.V.S.C.,.... but then explode when Tirso gets on stage for the last 3 songs. It is something that I think that those in attendance do not expect,.. but it is good for the promotion of Timba,... as you see the whole place stand up and start dancing!"

It's nice to hear that Tirso had that affect on the audiences who were there to see traditional Cuban music. And after the final concert of the tour Cristian had this to say:

"... but the concert was amazing!!! Really, they were all great,.. but they put something extra into it tonight...
It is great that Juan De Marcos is recognizing that the 'harder' stuff is worth promoting,... he obviously thinks that it is marketable,... and if anybody is going to make it work on an international level to help raise timba,.. it would be Juan De Marcos. He is really an amazing man,.... very down to earth,.. humble, confident, and friendly. He is very proud of the African roots of what is Cuban music and wants the world to know about it.  For our sake, and all the people who love the more upbeat, harder, Cuban music, I hope that the world once again listens to his message."

At Timba.com we can only hope so too! For some more pictures from the Canadian Tour click here.

¡Y para concluir quisiera dar mis felicitaciones a Richard en su día de cumpleaños!

Sunday October 16, 2004 - "Refugiandome en tu abrigo..."
These lyrics from Azúcar Negra's beautiful ballad Tú y yo somos una misma cosa will soon take on a new meaning as the band will be touring in Russia, Novosibirsk to be precise, in December and January. Ay Dios! And they thought it was cold in Scandinavia in April! So if you're looking for someplace really dark and cold to spend your holidays, may we suggest Novosibirsk? We'll get the concert dates to you as soon as we have more information, as well as the latest updates on what's going on with the band. 

Esas letras de la ballada bella Tú y yo somos una misma cosa de Azúcar Negra pronto van a adquirir un nuevo significado porque la banda va a hacer una gira de Rusia, Novosibirsk para ser exacto, en deciembre y  enero. Ay Dios! Y pensaron que era frío en Escandinavia en abril! Entonces si estás buscando un lugar bien oscuro y frío para pasar Navidad y el año nuevo, podemos sugerir Novosibirsk? Ponemos las fechas en la página cuando tenemos más información, y también la última de lo que está pasando con la orquesta.

Tuesday October 5, 2004 - Tour dates
The fall tour schedule for Europe is starting to come together. It doesn't look as full as it did this summer, but we have added some new dates for Maraca who begins his tour in November with three dates in Denmark.

Also we are trying to get more information about tour dates in South America, Mexico, etc. We know that Bamboleo, Charanga Habanera and Dantes y su bomba are all looking at possible tours in Peru this month, but so far it seems nothing has been confirmed. Lots going on in Peru with timba these days...but more about that later.

We'll keep you updated as information becomes available. Or, if you have any information, please mail us and keep us updated.