... and all this week at Yoshi's SF and Yoshi's Oakland.

photos by Tom Ehrlich

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Saturday's Cócomo show was sublime. I could watch this rhythm section night after night -- in fact, that's exactly what I intend to do and six nights won't be nearly enough to satisfy me. Their approach, originally architected by Changuito himself, is unlike any other timba band. Along with güirero Julito Noroña (the son of Van Van founder Julio Noroña) the timbalero, Miguelito Escuriola holds down the fort by covering both bell parts, as Samuell or Riverón would do, while also working in the jamblock, freeing the magnificent drummer/arranger Bombón Reyes to orchestrate the arrangement with his inimitable left-handed combination of kick, snare, hihat and toms. Bay Area fans will remember conguero Duniesky Barreto from Bamboleo's many tours in the late 90s. Pupy uses a lot more gears than he used to, giving Duniesky a lot of space to shine. This band's groove grabs ahold of you and won't let go, and Pupy's songs are all timeless classics, from 1970s Van Van masterpieces to fresh-out-of-the-oven estrenos from the upcoming album.

The concert kept building and building to an extraordinary climax on a new arrangement of Pupy's Van Van classic, Ni bombones ni caramelos. Bay Area sonero Fito Reinoso sat in and delivered one of the most inspired vocal performances I've ever heard. Fito can always be counted on to rise to the occasion with his Cándido Fabré-inspired improvisations, but this time he really outdid himself. Seconds after he took the mike, the energy level, already high, went off the scale. Pupy himself was grinning from ear to ear and shaking his head. The standard Cándido approach is to find a catchy melodic phrase and repeat it with minor variations, improvising words to fit the occasion, but Fito transcended this completely, fluidly responding to the band's every accent and changing rhythm and melody as well as words in myriad brilliant and completely spontaneous ways. When the rhythm section locked into an extended bomba behind him the groove was almost unbearable. Next, they seamlessly broke way down to a short 3-part coro with minimal accompaniment and Fito slid right into it, keeping the same rhythmic intensity at a fraction of the volume.

It's been a long, painful decade of musical drought, but the floodgates have opened and it's catch-up time for the city by the bay. Wherever you're reading this from, catch a boat, plane or train and get yourself out here.

NY Times Review   --  Central Park Video Clip

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Pupy & Los Que Son Son are just at the beginning of their US tour . They have already played in Florida and at Summer Stage in New York, and you can catch them again on the East Coast tonight at S.O.B.s before they head out for 12 concerts in California . If you can't make tonight's concert, don't worry they will be back east again with a concert the 19th at the Salsa Room in Arlington, VA. , back at S.O.B.s on the 20th and the final concert is Boston on the 22nd. I tell you quite seriously, you don't want to let this opportunity pass you by, so find a way to make it to at least one of the concerts on this historic first tour! Click here for a full list of remaining gigs.

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It's time for our annual month of Gabriel-envy. A few hours after touching down at José Martí International Airport, the intrepid timbera blogger stumbled into a Havana d'Primera concert without even trying ... sigh ...

For La Unteresita's exploits in greater detail, check Yemayá's Verse daily for the next month or so - it's the next best thing to being there.

Actually -- and I have to pinch myself as I type this -- this time,  the next best thing to being there just might be ... gasp ... being in San Francisco! We Have:

June 12 - Los Terry at Yerba Buena (free!) 
June 12 - Silvio Rodríguez at the Paramount in Oakland
June 12 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at Cócomo in SF

(and yes ... Tom Ehrlich plans to be at all 3 ... I'm skipping "Cuba's Bob Dylan" (don't worry - I'll listen to Blonde on Blonde to console myself).

June 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son at each Yoshi's venue.

July 9, 10, 11 - Elito Revé, por fin!

And last but not least, in book news, we're planning another series - "Inside Cuban Percussion" - with the first featured artist being none other than Calixto Oviedo. Stay tuned.

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El 12 de Junio se presentara en un festival de jazz en la isla de Aruba, la más exitosa orquesta femenina de Cuba: la orquesta ANACAONA.

Oprima aquí para descarga el dossier completo de la orquesta ANACAONA.

Un saludo y abrazo a Ánika Vila  por mantenernos al tanto con toda esta información.

Originalmente fundada el 19 de Febrero de 1932 por Concepción Castro Zaldarriaga y sus hermanas, la orquesta ANACAONA sigue siendo la mejor y primera orquesta femenina de Cuba. A partir de la jubilación de las hermanas Castro en Diciembre de 1987, asume la dirección de la orquesta Georgia Aguirre, quien junto a su hermana y otras jóvenes también egresadas de las escuelas de música, continúan la labor iniciada por las fundadoras consolidando un estilo que combina la tradición con la modernidad, para conservar y engrandecer la historia de la orquesta, que ya cuenta con más de medio siglo de trabajo ininterrumpido en el panorama musical cubano e internacional. En Cuba Anacaona se presenta en los principales escenarios de la música popular bailable, eventos culturales, giras nacionales, festivales y programas de la Radio y la Televisión.

En la actualidad, está integrada por trece mujeres que cultivan la música popular cubana, fusionando los ritmos más tradicionales con la sonoridad contemporánea. Conocidas también como “Las Mulatísimas del Sabor”, han logrado un sello que las distingue y son apreciadas tanto por la crítica como por los bailadores de toda Cuba y de diversos países del mundo.

Internacionalmente han viajado por más de 20 países de Europa, Asia, África, América y el Caribe actuando en importantes festivales y múltiples escenarios entre los que más se destacan: La gira por 34 ciudades de la República Popular China; su participación en la obra teatral “El Burgués Tropical” bajo la dirección de Gerome Sabarí, inspirada en el clásico de Molière, “El Burgués Gentilhombre”; la gira realizada en agosto de 1999 por algunas ciudades de los Estados Unidos en la que también sostuvieron un encuentro muy emotivo con Graciela Pérez, cantante y fundadora de Anacaona y el show “Sabor de la Habana” que abrió la temporada de espectáculos cubanos en el Cabaret del Gran Casino Montecarlo del Principado de Mónaco.

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