Friday May 29 2009 - Summer Festival Season
The festival season is almost upon us. Fiesta in Rome, Latinoamericando in Milan, Festival Bayamo de La Seyne sur mer in France, Cubamemucho in Vienna, the Tampere Salsa Festival in Finland and many more. I went to Seyne sur mer last year and was really impressed by the ambiance and of course the excellent selection of groups. this year at Festival Bayamo (also called Festival Cubain) the line up is:  July 15 Havana D'Primera, July 16 Okan Cuba, July 17 Haila and July 19 Bamboleo. Check the Tours section for more information and for changes and updates as the tour season approaches. And remember, the tours are always subject to change so confirm with the organizer before planning a timba trip thus summer.

Sunday May 24 2009 - Schedule Change for the Cuban Salsa Congress and Manolito in Mexico
Don't worry, the Cuban salsa congress isn't cancelled just shifted by 6 weeks. It will now take place from July 30 - August 2. Manolito y Su Trabuco are still scheduled to play. July 31st they will be at Mama Rumba Loreto and August 1st at Mama Rumba Roma. According to information from one of the Trabuqueros passed on to Gabriel, the band may be in Venezuela soon and also possibly in Japan in July. I have no confirmation on these dates yet, so if you have any information, please send us an e-mail.

Wednesday May 20 2009 - Ricardo "Papín" Abreu Has Passed Away
Yesterday Ricardo Abreu passed away from a brain hemmorhage. He was quinto player, vocalist and leader of the world-famous rumba group Los Papines. A great musician, it is another sad loss for fans of Cuban music and percussion. The funeral will take place today. In memory of Ricardo we have posted a video of the original four Papines, including Alfredo who passed away in 2001 from blood poisoning.

Giraldo Piloto at KoSA International Percussion Festival and Workshops
From July 30 to August 2 KoSA will present the 14th annual International Percussion Festival in Montreal. In addition to Girlado Piloto, who won Best Timba Drummer in the Timba.com Awards, other confirmed artists include Memo Acevedo, Pierre Beluse, Ndugu Chancler, Mario DeCuittis, Dom Famularo, Aldo Mazza, Allan Molnar,  Walfredo Reyes Jr., Jim Royle, Repercussion, Dave Samuels, Trichy Sankaran, Glen Velez and Michael Wimberly.

KoSA is an international organization with offices in Montreal, Quebec and Hyde Park, Vermont. They are dedicated to bringing bands, performers, professor and students together in various forums to share and learn from one another. In addition to the annual percussion festival, KoSA arranges cultural exchange trips to Cuba for bands and participates in the Havana Drum Festival, which will take place March 7-14, 2010 in Havana.

For more information about the KoSA International Percussion Festival, click here.

Monday May 18 2009 - Yumurí y Sus Hermanos Win at Cubadisco 2009

Winner Cubadisco 2009

The judges at Cubadisco 2009 selected Yumurí's Cd Cubano Cubano as best contemporary dance CD. According to Gabriel at Yemaya's Verse they celebrated yesterday afternoon with a concert at La Tropical. Congratulations to Yumurí. He faced some serious competition from the amazing group of CDs nominated for the award this year.

Thursday May 7 2009 - The Salsa Mayor Offical Homepage Has Opened for Business
As Mirco, the man with the fastest contacts I've ever seen, posted yesterday at Timbaporsiempre.com, Maykel Blanco y Salsa Mayor have opened their offical website at www.maykelblanco.com. It has English/Spanish and has links for photos and videos that still don't seem to be uploaded. But the music from the CDs is up.

Wednesday May 6 2009 - Manolito y Su Trabuco Mexico City Schedule
Well thankfully it seems that the H1N1 flu is already tapering off and we hope it soon disappears completely. In the meantime, in Mexico plans continue for the Cuban salsa congress which will feature two concerts by the Trabuco. I have asked Gabriel in Havana to get confirmation directly from the Trabuco that they are still planning their trip, but from the Mexican side it all seems to be confirmed. If all goes as planned the concert schedule and prices are:

June 12
Mama Rumba, Plaza Loreto

June 13
Mama Rumba, Colonia Roma

350 pesos in advance
400 pesos at the door

Monday May 4 2009 - Pupy y Los Que Son Son Videos Updated
Now that my computer is functioning again...more or less, I have gone back and updated the concert report from New Morning in Paris with video. I have uploaded video from the award ceremony when Jack el Calvo presented Pupy with the FiestaCubana award for Best CD 2008, the piano and drum solos that you have already seen (below) and also video of the new Los Que Son Son singers: Norberto singing Dicen que dicen, Michel singing Desde cero and Rudi singing Nadie puede contra eso. If you've been reading Gabriel's reports from Havana, you know she's suffering from Pepito/Mandy withdrawl. So here is an opportunity for those of you who still haven't seen the new band to form an opinion.

Let me apologize first for the shakiness of the videos. While it may look like I was riding a unicycle and filming at the same time, I swear this is not so. The truth is that the place was crowded (a sold out concert) and I was getting bumped into, plus I had to hold the tripod over my head and my arms and neck were killing me. Click here to re-read the report and put the videos in the context of the evening. Or click here to just see the videos.