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Titled “I give you a song” the Trova White Night took place at the Cultural Center El Sauce, a tribute concert to the late musician Santiago Feliú, organized in the framework of the 6th Chamber Music Festival Leo Brouwer.

Artists such as Liuba María Hevia, Gerardo Alfonso, Tony Ávila, Polito Ibáñez, Frank Delgado and Buena Fe offered last October 9th the best of their repertoire. People of all ages witnessed an unforgettable night, with a sample of the best of trova in Cuba. Not even the rainy weather scared the public to enjoy the musical tribute.

The phrase that characterizes the Leo Brouwer Festival, “a perfect marriage of intelligent music” was assumed by the participating musicians at the Trova White Night, a space that intended to include in the program the popular cuban music. About that, Israel Rojas, vocalist of the duo Buena Fe, said:

“The Festival has always been about chamber music, “cultured music”. It seems very beautiful to me that it has opened for popular music, with a level of historical and cultural coherence. Look at the result: it rained and the audience is still there. The well-organized, promoted and designed trova also has an audience. I think people are really enjoying it and when this happen a festival is alive”.

To open the event to a different music was, as demonstrated at the Trova White Night, an attractive initiative, in which the audience could enjoy “intelligent songs”. The double meaning, the picaresque tone to discuss social issues and unique chord guitars, Cuban troubadours left their mark on this year's Festival.

In exclusive interview, some of the musicians shared their most immediate work. Gerardo Alfonso reported that he is working on the album “La ruta del esclavo” (“Slave Route”), a project coordinated by UNESCO and EGREM. He added, that he is finishing “La luna” (“The moon”), a symphonic album, which has three musical arrangements and featuring the artists Roberto Sánchez Ferrer, Gido López Gavilán and Emilio Vega.

Meanwhile, the singer Tony Ávila reported he is working on his new album and a tribute to the musician popularly known as El Guayabero, to mark the day of the national culture. It consists of a compilation disc containing mostly Guaracha issues making use of double meaning. The project is sponsored by the Bis Music label and will be based in Holguín. The famous theme by El Guayabero “A mí me gusta que baile Marieta” (“I like when Marieta dances”) will be use for the title track.
The duo Buena Fe also shared that they are in the process of creating and recording their new album, which will go for the same path of previews albums and reflect “signature songs”, songs that conviden reflection around the social reality.

To these statements Polito Ibáñez added that he is working on an album of Cuban poems brought to music, a project that he has in mind quite a few years ago and he described as “very ambitious”. He also announced on the upcoming project “Cuba sings to Mexico”, which will be under the direction of Maestro Adalberto Álvarez. It will be a tour for the Central American nation, with the participation of the musicians Carlos Varela, Kelvis Ochoa, Haydeé Milanés, David Torrens and Polito Ibáñez. This initiative, explained the interviewee, will be repeated in Cuba under the name of “Cuba sings to Cuba”.

Polito, who said he was flattered to participate in the tribute concert to Santiago Feliú, said that the appointment in El Sauce showed that trova is not only happening on stage, as an intelligent phenomenon of the song, it is also “a phenomenon of ethics, solidarity between people and complicity”.

Buena fe

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Frank Delgado

Gerardo Alfonso

Polito Ibañez

Tony Ávila


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