Maykel Blanco & Salsa Mayor arrived today in Peru where they will have 11 concerts. Thanks to Joseiito Tiimba, we have updated the Salsa Mayor tour page with all the concert dates in Lima. And we can also inform European fans that the summer tour will take place from June 21 to July 15. We will update the tours as soon as we have more info, so keep an eye out for concert dates near you!

Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor with Yordi - " Se acabo el amor"

But you don't have to wait until the summer to enjoy your timba en vivo! We have Bárbaro Fines y su Mayimbe on their first European Tour in March! We are still waiting for the final list of confirmed dates so check back with us.  Los Van Van are also touring Europe in March, starting with a couple of concerts in England before they move on to the Continent. Also in March - April, the Viking Line Cuba Cruises between Stockholm and Helsinki will take place featuring Elito Revé y su Charangón, Yumurí and Charanga Forever. There will also be a number of traditional groups as well as dance shows. So check out Viking Line and book yourself a cruise!

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UPDATED: Two new shows added on 2-21 & 2-23 - click here for details.
 
Por Fin! Los Hermanos Arango are finally in the United States and will play at Berklee School of Music a week from today, Wednesday, Feb. 22.

There are also encouraging signs that they may play a show in Chicago.

Their visas are good until July so if you ideas for venues, please write in.

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The latest Alexander Abreu & Havana D' Primera video features dance guru Maykel Fonts and the London-based Key2Cuba dancers. This video is dedicated to, and in memory of the writer, Simon Gavron and directed by Kerry Ribchester. The video tells the story of two Cuban boys who grow up in the same barrio fighting and enacting an 'Eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth ' mentality with each other until Alexander Abreu shares with them his philosophy of rising above injustice with elegance.

Nueva Trova Icon Sara González has died - Singer-songwriter Sara Gonzalez, one of the original voices of the New Cuban Song Movement, has died in Havana, official media reported. She was 60. Gonzalez produced music for film, television and radio as well as her solo albums, and she also participated in several album collections. She studied guitar and viola and began her professional career in the early 1970s as a member of the musical group Los Dimos and in an occasional duo with singer-songwriter Pedro Luis Ferrer. During the course of her career, Gonzalez shared the stage with artists such as Joan Manuel Serrat, Mercedes Sosa and Pete Seeger, among others. source

New Cuban music documentary "Cuba: Island of Music" - , Filmmaker Gary Keys' tribute to Afro-Cuban jazz, the film is a behind-the-scenes look at music's role in the daily life of Cubans. Filmmaker Gary Keys (Memories of Duke and Dizzy's Dream Band) brings the audience into the heart and soul of Havana, through a vibrant mosaic of street musicians, big bands, dancers, religious rituals, and classic cars. Keys shows us Afro-Cuban music in New York City, with the music and commentary of jazz legends Billy Taylor, Candido Camero, and Chico OFarrill. See the full 1:17 minute film here.

New timbatón video: Vampira Malvada Charanga Habanera feat Yulién Oviedo - courtesy of our Italian reporter extraordinaire Cuba Soy Yo. 

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Legendary NG La Banda bassist Feliciano Arango (winner of the timba.com readers' poll in that category) and his co-author, bassist Cherina Mastrantones, have finished their second book (first book here). This one has all the best NG tracks transcribed all the way through and joins Standing in the Shadows of Motown as one of the best bass books every written. I hope to join that list in about a month with a book on Alain Pérez, but more on that laterl  

As someone who has spent far too much time transcribing Cuban basslines, I'm knocked out by the choice of material and the quality of the notation to say nothing of the subject. I rank Arango among the four most creative and inspired tumbao creators - the other three being Humberto Perera, Pedro Pablo Gutiérrez and Alain Pérez. I've got Alain covered - with four books plus audio and video coming soon (also Melón video), and Rob Holland keeps threatening to write a book on Humberto, who's also covered in Roots of Timba. That leaves Pedro Pablo. We only have this. Hopefully Rebambaramba, or someone else, will bring Pedro on tour soon.

Meanwhile, Arango's current group, Los Hermanos Arango, will be "in residence" at Berklee School of Music for 10 days in late February and there are encouraging signs that they may play elsewhere (Chicago perhaps). Their visas are good until July, so if you have any suggested venues, please write in. [Kevin Moore]

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