Mayito Rivera & The Sons of Cuba @WOMEX 14

The 14th World Music Expo - WOMEX, will take place from October 22-26 in the beautiful, historic city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Last year Los Van Van was given the Artist Award at WOMEX 13. This year Mayito Rivera & The Sons of Cuba have been selected as part of the Artist Showcase. They will perform on October 23rd. Click here to purchase your tickets for the October 23rd showcase.

For those of you unfamiliar with WOMEX, it is a world music trade fair where artists, promoters and labels can meet and network. It also includes showcase performances each night open to visitors, as well as awards for excellence presented at events only open to attendees.

Mayito's selection for the WOMEX showcase is an affirmation of his recent solo work as represented by the album "Invéntate una historia". All arrangements and lyrics on the new album are by Mayito. With this album he is mixing Cuban music with a broader range of world musical traditions. Check out the electronic press kit below to hear more about Mayito's latest project from the man himself. And if you can't make WOMEX, you can still catch Mayito performing with Soneros de Verdad tomorrow, September 25th in Brussels at Moliere, Friday the 26th in Utrecht at Rasa and Saturday the 27th in The Hague at Korzo.

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Wednesday, 17 September 2014, 11:37 AM

Tomorrow, September 18th, Buena Fe will perform at Miami-Dade County Auditorium with guest Frank Delgado. This year's show is a tribute to contemporary Cuban cinema including audiovisual segments. I can't make the Miami show, but I was in Havana and caught two of the rehearsals where they were preparing for the Miami show.

The first day, Israel missed the first hour of rehearsal because he was giving interviews. The second day they really focused on coordinating the audiovisual part of the show. Someone brought a smart TV that is supposed to work with gestures and voice control. No one could ever get that working, but they did get the video sections of the performance set up, however, you will get no spoilers from me! Below is a little montage of moments from the rehearsals on September 9 and 11, 2014.

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Tuesday, 16 September 2014, 08:32 AM

El Niño y La Verdad - Llegó La Verdad A photo of my copy of "Llegó la Verdad" on the seat by my departure gate

I totally lucked out! I took a very brief trip to Cuba where I was never able to hook up with Emilio Frias "El Niño" and Pachy Jr. for the interview I have been wanting to about La Verdad. But as luck would have it, while going through security at José Martí airport, I looked up and saw that just two people ahead of me in line was Emilio. They were on their way to Cancún for the Mayan congress. We hugged, he introduced me to his mom and he gave me the very first copy of the new CD "Llegó La Verdad". Hot off the presses! I knew the news would be out by the time I reached Stockholm (a 16 hour trip) but at least I know I was the very first person to get a copy. As I expected, it is a brilliant album worth the wait. A full review will be coming soon, but let me just say that the songs you have already heard as demos have been re-recorded/re-mixed and sound better than ever. There are 3 songs I haven't heard at all previously. Also worth noting, the new version of "La Mata" no longer features El Micha like the demo did, and "Seguir viviendo" is a Manolito Simonet arrangement with an intro that really brings to mind a "Loco por tus besos" vibe.

Below is a track & genre listing, which you might find interesting. All arrangements are by Wifredo Naranjo "Pachy Jr." and Dayron Ortega except as listed below. The hard copy is on sale in Havana at the EGREM stores. I don't know yet what the iTunes and other digital outlets release date will be.

La verdad (son)
Ese soy yo (son)
Dime cuanto (son)
Mi música (son)
Seguir viviendo (son - arr. & piano Manolito Simonet)
Loco pero te amo (son)
La mata (mozambique)
Verdad amarga (bolero - arr. Emilio Vega)
Piénsalo (timba feat. El Yonky)
Yo sí camino La Habana (son)

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Monday, 18 August 2014, 08:27 AM

Buena Fe @Miami Dade County Auditorium September 18 2014

In exactly one month on September 18 Buena Fe will return to Miami Dade County Auditorium, the site of their remarkable 2013 sold-out release concert for the CD "Dial" . This year Cuba's favorite pop-rock duo will bring the complete Havana experience including their horn section and a trio of strings. The concert will be an unprecedented audiovisual event combining the music of Buena Fe with clips that have marked Cuban cinema over the years, including "Memorias del Subdesarrollo" (ICAIC 1968), "Casa Vieja" (ICAIC 2010), "Habanastation" (ICAIC 2011), "Animados de Juan Padrón" (1981-2010), "Jose Martí, El ojo del canario" (ICAIC 2010) and "Cuba Va!" (ICAIC 1971) among others. Buena Fe sold out all 2500 seats last year so don't wait to get your tickets on sale now at Ticketmaster!

If you're not familiar with Buena Fe I can summarize by saying that while they are generally classified as pop-rock, their arrangements also include fusions with son, conga, changüí, rumba and even with classical pieces such as Lecuona's "La comparsa" and Leo Brouwer's "Un día de noviembre". But me the most outstanding aspect of the band is the lyrics. To learn more you can start by checking out their section here at Timba.com. They also have their own homepage and a very active and interactive Facebook page.

Or maybe I should just let the music speak for itself. Here is the video for "La culpa" from the 2013 CD "Dial".