On February 2nd Septeto Santiaguero will celebrate their 18th anniversary with a concert at noon at the legendary Salón de los Grandes de la Casa de la Trova in Santiago de Cuba. The band's latest CD, "Vamos pa' la fiesta", was selected as one of the best albums of World Music in 2012 by About.com (owned by The New York Times). And the Septeto's new CD was listed among the best salsa and latin jazz CDs of 2012 by the prestigious sites Descarga.com online music sales, ElWatusi.com, Brazil Salsa, Latin Beat Magazine, the Colombian radio station Javeriana Estereo, American stations KPFA 94.1 (Berkeley) and WMNF 88.5 FM (Tampa) and the French newspaper Le Monde, through the blog Mundo Latino. The album includes collaboration with internationally reknowned artists Rubén Blades (and his alter ego Medoro Madera), José Alberto “El Canario”, Cheo Feliciano and Edwin Colón Zayas, Jimmy Bosch and Luisito Quintero. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the heart of Cuban music and the soul of timba, guaranteed to get you dancing!  If you haven't heard "Vamos pa' la fiesta" yet, click here to check it out at Spotify. 

Septeto Santiguero will take their rico son to Mexico with concerts the 14th in Salón Los Ángeles in Mexico City, the 15th in Cuernavaca and the 16th in Veracruz. Don' t miss your chance to party with Septeto Santiaguero! Check out the first video from the album, "Esa familia a mí no me conviene"!

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It is always good news when a new timba band is born. First we had an explosion of timba bands in Stockholm and now my homestate Colorado has it's first timba band, "La Maquinaria". I have blogged about their upcoming concert February 10 at Fox Theater in Boulder, but like you I didn't know much about the band. So I got in touch with Calixto Oviedo and Armando Santoyo to get a little music sample and to find out about what inspired Armando to put together a timba band in the middle of cowboy country. 

**Update - La Maquinaria on the Fox Theater website + ticket link here...
http://www.foxtheatre.com/2013/02/10/0730PM/La-Maquinaria-Cubana
Call (303) 443-3399

The video above is a sample song that Calixto sent me, although Armando says the band has not yet recorded any demos. Instead they will make a professional quality DVD of the Boulder concert.  After hearing the demo and  interviewing Armando I am very excited about this new group! To read more about the origins of the band, their mission statement, the band members and how they began their collaboration with Calixto and Pepito, click here.

Booking for La Maquinaria Cubana
lamaquinariacubana@aol.com
Contact: Mandy Sant
1-303-475-7894

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We just finished listening to Omar Sosa's new release, Eggūn, and it blew us away.   We'll be reviewing it in detail in a few days, but meanwhile, there is a YouTube video that is more informative than the usual promo clip, and it is worth checking out: 

In December 2012, The CMQ Big Band  did some beautifully-orchestrated tributes to Beny Moré featuring Alain Pérez on vocals.   Love the sax section in this band too.  Here's a taste:

                                                                                                                                                                                Last but not least:  After an absence from most of the United States of more than a decade, Ernán López-Nussa is planning a tour here later in 2013.  This will be a reunion tour with two former bandmates, drummer Jimmy Branly and bassist Sawa Perez. In 2011, these three played together for a couple of sessions in Wisconsin and Iowa, and the chemistry and music were great. Ernán won four Cubadiso awards for Veinte Pianos in 2012. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.   

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David Calzado y su Charanga Habanera on tour in Europe in February

The 2013 Tours season is already in full swing in Peru with Charanga Forever and Charanga Habanera performing together in Peru last weekend, and Calle Real, Havana D'Primera, Maykel Blanco & Salsa Mayor and Klímax performing together Friday, February 1 in Lima.

Here in Europe Maykel Blanco is just finishing up his solo promotional tour for the "A toda máquina" CD, while La Charanga Habanera will start their European winter tour next Thursday with a concert at Cuba te quiero in Rome. David and the boys will hold 16 concerts across Europe and then head to Japan in March. Their Tours Page has the list of all concerts we know of thus far. If you know of any we are missing, please send me an e-mail.

Gente D'Zona on tour in Europe February

Also on tour in Europe during the month of February is Cubas hottest reggaeton act, Gente D'Zona. They have 12 concerts in 4 countries, including Spain, France, Italy and Germany. Click here to see the full list of concert dates and find one near you. Again, if we have missed any concerts, please send me an e-mail.

Later this spring we have Elito Revé y su Charangón and Havana D'Primera visiting so stay tuned for tour updates.

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