Pa'lante y Con Fe

Pa'lante y con fe - portada

Next week Alaín Almeida y La Constelación de Cuba will release their first CD "Pa'lante y Con Fe" on the Cubamusic label, and the album could not be more appropriately named. It has really been an effort of heart and soul as the band struggled to overcome problems that delayed the release for over a year.

The original plan was to release the CD in March 2015, but the band faced problems with both time and financing (the project was self-financed). Alaín spoke with Timba.com about the reasons for the delay of the album.

Alain: Sometimes I had time to record but not the money, and sometimes I had the money but not the time. Here the work schedule is really rough. We average 12 presentations a week. We start playing Wednesday and don't stop until Monday morning. We only have Monday and Tuesday to rest.

The delay was also caused by situations that we have had to face in the collective. At first the orchestra wasn't mine. I just joined the group to make music and continue my career. One day because of differences with of the owner of the orchestra, the musicians and I decided not to continue working with him. But he owned the instruments, and when we broke the association with him, we had to take a loan of 20 000 soles (about 6000 USD) to buy our instruments.

We played to pay off the instruments ... one thousand soles a week. For 20 weeks the money that we could have used to record and other things, had to be used on the new instruments. From April to late October we were paying one thousand soles a week. After we paid the instruments off, we were able to resume recording.

Making music is a constant struggle. This CD is a dream come true. I've been writing songs since I was 12 or 13, and I have never sold a song or given my songs to anyone. I've been waiting for a moment like this. It's a dream that has motivated me all my life, why I became a singer and why I'm here. It's a great blessing from God.

Timba.com is happy to congratulate Alain Almeida & La Constalación de Cuba on their first album, "Pa'lante y Con Fe". The album will be available next week at all the digital retailers and the band will also press CDs, mainly for the Peruvian audience.

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miércoles, 24 agosto 2016, 04:30 pm

Angelito Ramírez & el Tren Balá Angelito Ramiíez & El Tren Balá working on a new album

Angelito Ramirez & El Tren Balá released their first CD "Mi Historia" on the Cubamusic label in February this year, but they are already working on their second album, which will be titled "El Rey del Timbón" and is expected to reach the market early in 2017. They plan to release three singles before the album drops: "El rey del timbón", "Todo está escrito en esta vida" and "Farandulera".

Mi Historia ©Cubamusic 2016

The band has uploaded a video of "Farandula" from one of the rehearsals to give fans a glimpse of what is coming. You can find many other live videos of Angelito & El Tren Balá at YouTube from their numerous performances in Lima.

A first look at the new song "Farandulera" from the upcoming CD "El Rey del Timbón"
recorded during a rehersal

El Tren Balá is a mix of Cuban and Peruvian musicians:
Director/Songwriter/Composor: Angelito Ramírez (Perú).
Piano/musical directorl: Martín Villanueva "Tripio" (Perú)
Vocals: Maikel Orizondo (Cuba), Renato Fernández (Perú).
Horns: Rudy (Trompeta), Denis (Trombón), Roger (Trombón), Juancito (Saxofón) all Peruvians
Drums & Timbal: Manuel Moreno "Hueso" (Cuba).
Congas: Felito Silva (Cuba).
Baby Bass: Reynier Perez (Cuba).
Güiro: El Baby (Cuba)
Keyboard: Yordanky Hernández "El Rubio" (Cuba).

For more information contact
angelitoramirez.trenbala@gmail.com
Contracts | (+51)956748871 | Renzo Rey (Representative)

Angelito Ramírez

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domingo, 17 julio 2016, 03:03 pm

Hennes Latin Stage 2016

Tomorrow marks a very special edition of Hennes Latin Stage at the International Four Day Marches in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Hennes Latin Stage celebrates ten years of bringing the best in Cuban music in a free concert for an international crowd . But that's not all! The Four Day Marches are celebrating their centennial this year and the headliner for Hennes is Elito Revé y Su Charangón who are celebrating 60s years. If you're in The Low Countries, stop by and catch a concert. Orquesta Revé will perform Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th.

Henri van Woerkum - Hennes himself - took some time out of the preparations to answer a few questions for Timba.com

How does it feel to have reached the 10 year marker?

Proud, very proud. We started small scale and are now operating with 30 hardworking volunteers. Without them it would no be possible.

Do you have any reflections about the festival over the years or about the conjunction of the three anniversaries: Hennes 10 years Nijmegen marches 100 and Revé 60?

We are very proud to celebrate Orquesta Revé's 60th anniversary with our 10th. BTW... this will be their 3rd time rocking here at Hennes Latin Stage, multiple days. Because of the 4 day marches, the city of Nijmegen (170.000 inhabitants) is loaded with people, more or less 1.000.000 . A percentage pass our free festival, some stay and come back for it the next year. This is how our audience grows.

Why did you choose the unique format of featuring the same band for more than one night in a row?

These famous Cuban bands have a large repertoire. They can easily fill three nights without being boring. For the bands themselves, when they are on tour in Europe, it is good to be 3 days in succession in the same place on weekdays and not weekends. We take good care of them. Good hotel. Good food, and since two years ago even Cuban food.

Hennes Latin Stage as seen from above

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viernes, 01 julio 2016, 02:31 pm

Maykel Blanco & Su Salsa Mayor
Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor are in Rovinj, Croatia tonight at the Croatian Summer Salsa Festival. I have been hearing fantastic things about this festival and may just have to go next year. After tonight they will play Munich and Zurich. In August Maykel and the Mayores will be in Buenos Aires. Click here for tour information.

Maykel has also released the first official video from the Havana Festival de la Salsa held this February. That's another festival I need to go to next year. Enjoy!