Tour season 2017 is getting underway in Europe, and first up is Calle Real who will be giving three concerts in February - the first right here in Stockholm this Friday February 10th at Fasching. The 11th they will be at Nefertiti in Gothenburg and the 17th they will perform i Copenhagen in Studie 2 at DR Koncerthuset. They already have concerts booked in May and more on the way. You can keep an eye on their tours page as more dates are confirmed or follow Calle Real at their official Facebook page.

Make sure to take some extra cash with you because they will have their CD  "¿¡Dime Qué?!" on hand. It was released in mid December 2015 and was one of the CDs I listened to most throughout 2016. Click here for my full review.

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The news has been all over Facebook since Sunday - Yenisel Valdés is leaving Los Van Van to begin a new life with her husband Dancer, singer and percussionist Erick Barbeira. The newlyweds will be settling down in California, and Yeni's relocation is what caused her to leave the orchestra. Timba.com wish them both much happiness in their new life together. It will certainly be interesting to see what she does with that voice of her in La Yuma. Bay Area watch out! Kevin, are you paying attention?

During her career, Yeni had to face down tough, macho audiences that were not receptive to seeing a woman in timba bands such as NG La Banda and later Los Van Van. But her combination of grace and humor on stage with that incredible voice earned her the respect and love of the Cuban and international audiences. Where once people thought Maestro Juan Formell was crazy to bring in a woman after the departure of the iconic Pedrito Calvo, now they mourn her leaving and can't imagine Van Van without La Van Vanera.

But the world moves on, and while Yeni has an exciting new life to begin, bandleader and drummer Samuel Formell has the unenviable job of deciding what to do now. Maybe he will find another amazing talent from Cuba's seemingly endless fountain of musical geniuses. Or maybe he'll decide that no one can fill her high heels and stick with three voices. As always, changes in Cuban orchestras fill me both with sadness and yet also a sense of excitement and possibility.

Yeni, I want to leave you with a short clip from an interview I did with Juan in January of 2008. He was talking about how he decided that to fill the space left by Pedrito's departure he would add two singers to the band - Lele and yourself. And here is what he had to say about you. Congratulations and best wishes - Michelle .

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As promised we have published all the date of the winter tour, which begins with a concert in Essen, Germany on February 11th. The band will visit, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Switzerland. Click to find a concert near you.

Although they will be promoting their latest CD "Más Duro" on this tour, we know they have been performing new songs in Havana. Here is a little taste of the percussion section during the reprise of the new hit "El Profesor", courtesy of Matias Loyttyniemi. I recommend checking out his YouTube account because he has a lot of nice video from various concerts from last year.

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It's almost time for the  16th Annual Havana Rhythm and Dance Festival - "La Fiesta del Tambor - Guillermo Barreto In Memoriam" . This year's festival will take place the second week of March in Havana and will feature guest artist Aldo Mazza. As with previous years the festival includes percussion and dance classes, performances and competitions. The percussion competition is open to all ages as is the Casino competition. There is also a Rumba dance competition for 15 years and older. Winners of the percussion competition will receive new instruments from brand such as  SABIAN, GON BOPS, PEARL, REGAL TIP, SONOC, and EVANS. Most events will be held in the following venues: Teatro Mella, Teatro Karl Marx, Sala Avenida, El Salón Rosado de La Tropical, Jardines del Teatro Mella and Hotel Palco.

There will also be concerts by the most popular timba and rumba groups, such as Orquesta Revé, Klímax, Paulo F.G., Havana D'Primera, El Niño y La Verdad, Manolitoy Su Trabuco, Azúcar Negra, Bamboleo, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor, Osain del Monte, Yoruba Andabo, Los Papines, Rumberos de Cuba and more! If you can be in Havana for the festival, do it! For all the information (in Spanish) check out the Havana Rhythm and Dance Festival Official homepage. For information about tourist packages and lodging contact:

Roberto Risquet Redonet Valdés
Especialista Comercial Eventos
Paradiso Turismo Cultural
Email: eventos3@paradis.artex.cu
Email: redonetrisquet@yahoo.com
Tel: +(537) 8365381 / 8383908

And just in case you missed it, here is the most recent video released by Giraldo Piloto & Klímax!

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