El Noro y 1ra Clase begin their 2017 tour of Europe next Thursday June 15th at Cabaret Sauvage in Paris. I'm excited because I will get to see the band live for the first time on Friday June 16th in Stockholm! Note: If you're planning to go to the Stockholm concert, buy your tickets in advance because they will not be sold at the door. Click here for the concert dates .

For those of you who have only recently come to timba, here is a short retrospective of El Noro's career. Although he began singing with Doble Impacto, I first met Norisley Valladares "El Noro" in 2007 when he was with Maykel Blanco. His distinctive voice, charismatic stage presence and trademark blond spikes made him instantly recognizable. During his time with Maykel Blanco y su Salsa Mayor, El Noro became a household name among timba fans around the world.

Cuba took note and in December 2007 during a Salsa Mayor national tour, El Noro received a call from Manolito Simonet asking him to join the Trabuco as replacement for Sixto Llorente "El Indio". Honestly, replacing a master-sonero like El Indio is not an easy position to be in, but I went to the second concert El Noro did after joining El Trabuco and was very impressed when the time came for him to sing "Marcando la distancia". He really was able to pull it off, and during his time with Manolito, he also tried his hand at composing. One of his signature songs from that period is "La bomba". Here is El Noro performing "La Bomba" with Manolito in Rome in 2008.

In 2009 none other than César "Pupy" Pedroso invited El Noro to join Los Que Son Son. Here he sang updated versions of "Ni bombones, ni caramelos" and "Parece mentira" and many hits such as "Un loco con una moto", "Seis semanas" and "Dicen que dicen" as well as some of his own compositions: "No te deje por mala", "Esta es mi música" and "La preferencia".

On October 20, 2013 after nearly 4 years with Pupy y Los Que Son Son, El Noro decided to take a big risk and start his own orchestra. Now he could establish his own sello reinterpreting his hits and creating a new repertoire according to his personal musical tastes.

The first CD by El Noro y 1ra Clase - "Sin escalas" - was released in 2015 and was awarded "Best Dance Music - New Talent" at Cubadisco 2016. The album includes a couple of his previous hits "La bomba" feat. Alexander Abreu and "La preferencia", as well as ten new compositions. He chose to only use his own compositions for the first CD.

El Noro has not been idle since then and a new CD is in the works. He has also begun working with other composers. You can find some of his other songs at YouTube such as "3 con 2", "Estoy en 0", "Música diferente", "Pa' lo mal hecho" and "Cinturita."

Summary: For the past ten years El Noro has been one of the most popular and recognizable young singers in Cuba. His career path took him through three important Cuban bands where he learned from each bandleader. His orchestra - 1ra Clase - has already received honors from the Cuban music industry and has completed successful tours of Europe and Peru. If you get the chance to see the band live, don't miss it! I wont!

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Cuba's premier dance band returns to the US with a full lineup featuring three of founder Juan Formell's children: drummer / timbalero Samuel Formell, bassist Juan-Carlos Formell and the newest addition, the family's youngest daughter, lead vocalist Vanessa Formell. We anticipate that her voice, beauty and her energetic style will increase the adrenaline in all shows.

After the passing of Juan Formell, the legacy remained in the hands of his son, Samuel Formell. Samuel has been following the footsteps of his father as musical director of the band. On this tour he brings LVV's most recent musical production entitled "Los Van Van son la patria" from Cuba’s Egrem label, a collection of danceable tracks incorporating innovative, contemporary arrangements of Juan Formell’s hits and new compositions from different members of the band.

The orchestra will be in the US in August 15th , 2017 through August 30th, 2017

For presenters interested in including the legendary Pedrito Calvo as guest singer in any show, please contact www.Searockmusic.com (info below) to discuss this in advance. Pedro Calvo is the most recognized singer of Los Van Van in its first 40 years and and one of the most famous interpreters of contemporary Afro-Cuba music.

For group availability, contact:
Ernesto Lago
Tour Producer /Artist Representative
ernesto@searockmusic.com
(917) 617 – 5708

Leo Tizol
Tour Producer
mundolibremusic@yahoo.com
(917) 687 – 2486

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Rivera y Primera really did turn out to be la combinación perfecta. Transcending the usual Van Van tribute approach, Mayito and Alexander sang together with obvious preparation on an HdP song, El palo más duro, and Mayito's first  big hit, La sorpresa (Voy a publicar tu foto). Mayito sang Soy todo alone but the band, with Guillermo del Toro switching to drumset, made some very cool changes to the arrangement. The show went two hours and included several new HdP songs as well as a couple of their trademark hits. If you're in SF, LV, LA or Miami, this historic pairing is not to be missed.

Roccapulco's slick new digital backdrop was a big improvement

Avis Tobías was playing with a new ferocity

DJ Walt Digz with DJ Leydis

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CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL TOUR

Havana d'Primera will be back on the West Coast starting Thursday & Friday, May 25 & 26 at Roccapulco in San Francisco , and this time they have a special guest - ex-Van Van legend, Mayito Rivera.

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