• Submitted by: admin
• Arts and Culture
• Events
• Music
• 06 / 22 / 2007

---

What started as a party for traditional Cuban music, has become the 12^th National Septet Festival to be held in Havana from June 28 to July 1 with the participation of 20 groups from 10 provinces.

Angel Gomez Alvarez, director of the Ignacio Pineiro Music Company, announced that among the groups to perform are Moneda Nacional, Perlas del Son, el Santiaguero, Son Diamante and Ecos del Siboney, Mongo Rives y su Tumbita Criolla, el Septeto Santa Fe, Raíces Cubanas, Son del Barrio and Union.

Others include el Septeto Ayer y Hoy and Son del Yayabo, Caney, Horizontes, Habanero, Okay Cuba, Son Atrevido, Típico de Sones, Matamoros, Carisma, and Pancho Amat y su Cabildo del Son.

Ignacio Pineiro (1888-1969) predicted that the future of son was in its cosmopolization and his National Septet worked to that end. This years musical gathering is dedicated to the National Septet in its 80^th year.

Parallel to the concerts a symposium is scheduled for June 28-29.

Raul Fernandez, a Cuban researcher residing in the United States will make a presentation titled, Ignacio Pineiro, the grandfather of salsa. Manuel Villar will lecture on Son and Cuban radio, and musicologist Ana Casanova will speak on the Tres guitar in traditional and popular Cuban music.

Source: By Omar Vazquez, Granma