Por fin, a team of presenters has banded together to bring Los Van Van to Chicago!  They are coming to Thalia Hall on Sunday, August 9 at 8PM.  If you need me to tell you why this is a must-go, you must have stumbled onto the wrong website by accident. And yes, even with the loss of Juan Formell, they are still in a class all their own.  For tickets and details, see the Thalia Hall website. Needless to say, there are other US cities on the itinerary, which we think we have here. 

But hey, there's more!  For you traditionalists, the Adios Tour for the Buena Vista Social Club is coming to Ravinia on Wednesday, August 12 at 8:30pm.   Tickets and details at the Ravinia website. Supposedly this is their last trip out, but then I was at Flaco Jimenez Jr's "retirement concert" in Denton, Texas about a decade ago, and the last time I checked he was still playing.  These things happen when you are dedicated to your art. But why take a chance, eh?   

Tell you what, just take the whole week off.  Festival Cubano is happening Friday-Sunday, August 14-16, and that lineup includes Pedrito Calvo, Miguelito Cuni Jr.  and many others. Even the non-Cuban artists like Jose Alberto "El Canario" and Luis Enrique have for the most part been working with Cuban artists recently.  Full details at the Festival Cubano website. 

But Bill, what about RIGHT NOW, you ask?  Got you covered.  This Friday and Saturday,  the Chicago Latin Jazz Festival in Humboldt Park is happening. Complete details are at the Jazz Institute of Chicago's website.  I'll let Mr. Papo Vazquez explain why you should attend: 



Next case. 

Before you go, check out the photo gallery and interview with Jorge Gomez of Tiempo Libre, which was just here.  They tore up the block, and I think they made it to Madrid before they could be arrested for it....

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continue reading Sin Clave No Hay Na

Oderquis Revé is celebrating his 66th birthday by giving us all a gift. A new single recorded for the 500th anniversary of Santiago de Cuba is available for free download at El Ratón Rabioso's ReverbNation page . I did it first thing this morning and it was a great vitamin kick to start the day!

Oderquis Revé está celebrando su 66o cumpleaños, dándonos todo un regalo. Un nuevo single grabado para el 500 aniversario de Santiago de Cuba se encuentra disponible para descarga gratuita en la página de El Ratón Rabioso ReverbNation. Descargué el tema hoy por la mañana y fue una gran injección de vitamina para empezar el día!

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Ángel Batule music producer & DJ

If you've been listening to contemporary Cuban dance music at all over the past few years you have heard one name shouted out by a wide variety artists - "¡Batule!" Ángel Batule - also known as  "Batule DJ" - is a member of the hugely popular Cuban group Los 4 and also one of the most sought-after music producers, arrangers, composers of the new generation of Cuban musicians.

When the reggaeton craze first swept Cuba, it seemed that the younger musicians were leaving Cuban musical traditions behind. But recent years have seen a move back towards cubanía - a return to the Cuban talent for taking something foreign and making something Cuban out of it. Batule's music is a prime example of this. Having a father who was a sound engineer and a mentor named Tirso Duarte , Batule learned about the complexities of Cuban dance music and combined these with the beats that make the younger generation move - becoming a key figure in the timbaton movement. Although the songs rely heavily on electronic reggaeton beats, they also may incorporate rumba, salsa and even gears such as bomba.

To satisfy my own curiosity, I got in touch with Batule who is just finishing up a tour of Peru with Los 4. He agreed to do a little interview so we at timba.com could get to know the man behind the shout-out "¡Batule DJ!" Click here to read the interview in English .

Dale clic aquí para leer la entrevista en español.

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Click here for Tom's gallery on PMO's show at Stern Grove.

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