Cuba: Havana Is Preparing for Huge Concert
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- Local
- Arts and Culture
- Havana
- Music
- 09 / 20 / 2009
Havana is preparing for the biggest open air concert since the 1959 revolution, featuring some 15 top Latin American, Spanish and Cuban performers.
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans are expected to attend the concert in Revolution Square in Havana.
While the critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert - which is called Peace without Borders - is an opportunity for reconciliation.
During a break in rehearsals, Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics.
"It's a message of peace, not only for Cuba. It's for the entire region," he said.
He added that preparations for the concert had not been easy, but "we have all got over our fears".
As the BBC's Michael Voss reports from Havana, the location of the free concert is highly symbolic.
The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square, along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head.
The square was used by Fidel Castro used to give five-hour speeches, and is also where Pope John Paul II held a historic open air mass in 1998.
Our correspondent says the concert will feature the kind of big-name Latin line up that the isolated, music loving island of Cuba could only dream about in the past.
Among the artists taking part on Sunday are Spain's Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.
Source: BBC
Hundreds of thousands of Cubans are expected to attend the concert in Revolution Square in Havana.
While the critics have complained that Juanes is endorsing the island's communist system, the dissidents say the concert - which is called Peace without Borders - is an opportunity for reconciliation.
During a break in rehearsals, Juanes said the show was about peace and tolerance, not politics.
"It's a message of peace, not only for Cuba. It's for the entire region," he said.
He added that preparations for the concert had not been easy, but "we have all got over our fears".
As the BBC's Michael Voss reports from Havana, the location of the free concert is highly symbolic.
The headquarters of the communist party is in Revolution Square, along with a giant metal sculpture of Che Guevara's head.
The square was used by Fidel Castro used to give five-hour speeches, and is also where Pope John Paul II held a historic open air mass in 1998.
Our correspondent says the concert will feature the kind of big-name Latin line up that the isolated, music loving island of Cuba could only dream about in the past.
Among the artists taking part on Sunday are Spain's Miguel Bose, Olga Tanon from Puerto Rico, the Cuban performers Silvio Rodriguez and Los Van Van.
Source: BBC
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