• Submitted by: manso
• Editorial Articles
• 04 / 14 / 2011

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By: Carolina Gonzalez. Wednesday, April 13th 2011, 9:13 AM.  The ¡Sí Cuba! Festival will bring Los Muñequitos de Matanzas to the U.S. for the first time in years. The renowned Afro-Cuban dance troupe will play May 5-7 at Symphony Space.

New York City is having a Cuban spring.The ¡Sí Cuba! Festival, which began officially two weeks ago, sprawls over nearly four months and 14 venues, with enough events for even the most avid Cuban culture fiend.

But while the festival front-loads artists from the island nation making rare visits to the Big Apple, a substantial portion of the program features Cuban-born artists who have made the New York area their home, such as singers Xiomara Laugart and Pedrito Martínez.

The program also includes Cuban-American artists who perform regularly around town, such as Arturo O'Farrill, and other annual events, such as the Havana Film Festival New York, which is in its 12th year, and Habana/Harlem, in its fourth.

A cynical observer might ask if this dazzling fest might be a bit of wrapping old gifts in bright new paper.

Some of the festival organizers admit that marketing to break through to a jaded big-city audience in tough economic times played a part in the plan to present a united front.

"It's been really helpful to come together to promote these artists," said Robert Browning, artistic director for the World Music Institute, one of the festival partner organizations.

"Every year, it gets more and more difficult to get the word out, no matter how great the work is."

Browning's organization is responsible for two seminal bands attending the festival, Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro, at Carnegie Hall this Saturday, and Los Muñequitos de Matanzas next month.

The drought of visits by Cuban artists from the island that characterized the hard-line position by the Bush administration increased to a trickle in late 2009, when President Obama allowed more travel visas for cultural exchange.

The first major artist to perform in the city was the returning Septeto Nacional, at Hostos Community College and other venues in November 2009, followed by Charanga Habanera and then singer Omara Portuondo of Buena Vista Social Club fame in February 2010 at Town Hall.

But the most certain sign that there was a change in the air was last summer's performances at Carnegie Hall by Silvio Rodríguez, the singer-songwriter most closely identified with the Castro government, who had not been in the U.S. since the Carter administration.

Karen Brooks Hopkins, president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, credited by ¡Sí Cuba! organizers as the point of origin for the coalition, said she got the idea for the festival after returning from the island last year for an arts conference.

"When I got back and checked around with the Joyce Theater and the Americas Society, we felt there was so much already in place, it was right to push it out into the city on a grander scale," she said.

"What we did was provide the glue, bring everyone together, make a larger impact by organizing an umbrella."

But at least one longstanding promoter of Cuban culture in the city claims that the ¡Sí Cuba! banner has not been extended to all local organizations.

Sandra Levinson, director of the Cuban Art Space in Chelsea, said her group was not invited to participate, although it has brought Cuban artists and art to New York over the past 40 years, and has an exhibit of more than 100 Cuban posters through April 30.

"I think the reason is that they don't want to have any relationship with any group that they consider political," she said.

"Since we existed since 1972, any institutions that had to do with Cuba had to be political."

Brooks Hopkins denied there was any conflict over politics .

"After we put it all together, we heard from other organizations that wanted to be a part of it," she said. "We didn't mean to leave anyone out."

¡Sí Cuba! Best of the fest

In a solid banquet of offerings, here are Viva's picks for don't-miss shows:

QUELOIDES: RACE AND RACISM IN CUBAN CONTEMPORARY ART - This groundbreaking exhibit of contemporary Cuban artists examines black identity and racism within a society with an official color-blind ideology and was a hit in its first stop in Pittsburgh. It opened this week in town and runs through July 14 at the 8th Floor gallery, 17 W. 17th St. Free.

LOS MUÑEQUITOS DE MATANZAS - Renowned for its Afro-Cuban dance troupe as much as for its percussion ensemble, the Muñequitos, three generations strong, have not visited the U.S. in more than a decade. May 5-7, Symphony Space.

DANZA CONTEMPORÁNEA DE CUBA - One of the pieces to be performed by this cutting-edge troupe is set to disco, swing and jazz. Not your grandpa's Caribbean dance group. May 10-22, Joyce Theater.

BALLET FOLKLORICO CUTUMBA - The Santiago de Cuba-based group mixes Afro-Cuban and Haitian styles, including rara and son. May 27-30, Brooklyn Academy of Music.

THE CREOLE CHOIR OF CUBA - A product of the centuries-old Haitian migration to the southeast provinces of Cuba, this group sings merengues, mazurkas and other styles. June 4, Brooklyn Academy of Music.

BALLET NACIONAL DE CUBA - Cuba's national ballet corps has influenced the art form throughout the Americas. June 8-11, Brooklyn Academy of Music.

TELMARY DÍAZ - Cuban hip hop, long an underground form, has matured and produced a variety of acts, such as this young poet-rapper who incorporates reggae and jazz into her sound. June 10 (rescheduled from April 23), BAMcafé.

Even after ¡Sí Cuba! ends, New Yorkers - as always - will have plenty of Cuban art and artists to see in their midst.

As an example, Cuban-born dancer José Manuel Carreño retires as principal dancer from the American Ballet Theatre on June 30, and it's a farewell performance that's already pretty much sold-out.

Source: //www.nydailynews.com/latino/2011/04/13/2011-04-13_cubasi14.html#ixzz1JQkvWCNa