Yeni Valdés - among the most imitated Cuban vocalists since Celia Cruz - was the first woman in two of Cuba's greatest bands - NG La Banda and Los Van Van, singing with the latter for 16 years. She now lives in Santa Cruz, California with her husband, Erick Barbería, a batá master who played with the legendary Papo Angarica and a multi-talented timbero equally at home with lead vocals and all the percussion instruments. They'll be playing in a star studded show produced by DJ Asho and featuring Timbalive, DJ Walt Digz, DJ Melao and DJ Danis la Clave next Friday, October 13th. Here's are links for venue information and tickets. And here's the press release in downloadable format.

Erick Barbería

DJ Asho

DJ Walt Digz

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Tirso is doing a whole series of educational timba piano videos on youtube!

There are nine of these so far. And here's my old video on Tirso and Charanga Habanera:

[Kevin Moore]

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Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla  just arrived in the United States for some special concerts

1. Friday, October 6 at 7:30pm, Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla are perfoming a free concert at the Bates Recital Hall at The University of Texas at Austin, Texas.  Complete details are at the Bates Recital Hall Event Page 

2. On Saturday, October 14, the Brava Theater Center is presenting a concert by Pablo Menéndez & Mezcla hosted by Chuy Varela of KCSM with special guests John Santos, Barbara Dane, John Calloway, Greg Landau, Camilo Landau and others.  The concert will by preceded by the new documentary So Near, So Far, by the award-winning Cuban director Lourdes Prieto and L.A. Chicago David Sandoval.  This documentary is about the life of Pablo Menéndez, Mezcla's leader.  Complete details and tickets can be found at the Brava.org website. 

Incidentally, if you never obtained their 2015 release Pure Mezcla (Direct from Cuba -Live at Yoshi's) - you can still purchase the digital release with special extras on Latinpulsemusic.com

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There is a lot going on this week in addition to the regular concert schedule in Havana. First up, Leonel Limonta & Azúcar Negra will hold a press conference today at Casa de la Música Miramar for the release of their excellent new CD "Tonada pa'l bailador". They will also give a concert at CDLM Miramar on Saturday, October 7th.

This is Azúcar Negra's 7th album and as the rightly claims, it is a brilliant album for the dancers.  You can find the album at the usual digital retailers and streaming sites. "Tonada pa'l bailador" contains 14 tracks and a full review will be coming shortly.

Track list:
Tonada pa'l bailador
Cuando pienso en ti
De fiesta en fiesta
Retomando el son
Por qué me miras así
Mi chica se rebela
La Habana está de fiesta
Tonada pa'l bailador feat. Alexander Abreu
Agua caliente
El tequila feat. El Micha
Pa' que se entere La Habana
Yo necesito de ti feat. Luna Manzanares
Suave, rico y despacito
Maltratando la tela

Congratulations to Alexander Abreu & Havana D'Primera who celebrated their 10th anniversary yesterday. They will hold two special concerts this weekend: Saturday the 7th at Karl Marx Theater with surprise guests and Sunday the 8th at Salón Rosado de la Tropical. Their European Tour begins October 12th in Moscow and they will follow up with a national Cuban tour.

Unlike most young bands, Havana D'Primera didn't have a period of "finding themselves" but burst fully-developed on the timba scene. This was in part due to the fact that many of them had already worked together for years in Issac Delgado's band. Alexander's lyrics also made the Havana D'Primera stand out from the masses. It didn't take long for them to become one of the most popular bands both inside and outside of Cuba. During their first decade, Havana D'Primera has released three studio CDs all of which have been at the top of the timba charts and even done well among regular salseros. Still one of Cuba's greatest trumpeters, Alexander is today also highly sought after for collaborations as a vocalist. 

We cannot fail to mention that today is José Luis Cortés "El Tosco"'s birthday. Where would Cuban music be today without NG La Banda? I shudder to imagine. So Happy Birthday El Tosco and thank you for your role in making our music and dance obsession possible.

And across the pond over here in Europe, Maykel Blanco & su Salsa Mayor begin their European Tour tonight in Paris. Click here for concert dates. Here is a recent live clip of the band performing in La Guayabera in Alamar, Havana, Cuba.  

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