Afropop Worldwide publishes The Cuban Connection, a collection of 18 radio programs based on author Ned Sublette's field work about Cuban music from 1990-2003.

The Cuban Connection 

Beginning in 1990 – during the second season of Afropop, when it changed its name to Afropop Worldwide – producer Ned Sublette began working with the show by producing the first of a ground-breaking, multi-year series of programs based on his fieldwork in Cuba, generically titled The Cuban Connection.

Travel to Cuba from the US was very heavily restricted in 1990, and there was very little musical communication between the two places, so these programs gave many US listeners their first taste, with interviews, premieres, and lots of excellent music. As the Havana music scene developed in the ‘90s, Afropop Worldwide, hosted by the one and only Georges Collinet, brought listeners the latest hits, most of them otherwise unobtainable in the US, as well as folkloric and traditional music, trova, jazz, rock, Cuban oldies, and more. And we traveled to Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Santiago de Cuba, Guantánamo, Holguin, and more.

The Cuban Connection 1 (1990):

Features Ned Sublette’s exclusive live recording of Los Van Van in February 1990 in Havana, with “Titimanía” and an extended version of “Aquí Él Que Baila Gana.” We talk to Van Van founder Juan Formell and to Elio Revé of Revé y su Charangón, and visit a rehearsal by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas. We talk to Juan Formell. Revé y Su Charangón: Changüí Clave. Revé y Su Charangón: Más Viejo Que Ayer, Más Joven Que Mañana. Son 14: Tal Vez Vuelvas a Llamarme. Grupo Sierra Maestra: El Dulcerito. Los Muñequitos de Matanzas: Congo Yambumba.

The Cuban Connection 2 (1990):

We follow a carnival comparsa through the streets of Santiago de Cuba and hear the Haitian-descended Tumba Francesa. Son 14: Fue el Rey de la Rumba.NG La Banda: La Expresiva. Orq. Original de Manzanillo: Comenzó la Fiesta. Revé y su Charangón, live at the amphitheater of Guanabacoa: “Te confundieron con león . . . ¡gallina!” Dan Den: No Me Carezcas. We talk to Carlos Alfonso of Síntesis. Síntesis: Oyá. Mezcla: Ikiri Addá. Los Van Van live: Que Domingo.

The Cuban Connection 3 (1990):

NG La Banda: Los Sitios Entero. Issac Delgado: Ella es un Reloj. Adalberto y Su Son: En Casa de Rosa Zayas. Revé y su Charangón: Así Soy Que. A visit to Matanzas, with Yoruba music from Afro Cuba de Matanzas and a visit to a toque for Elegguá. Street rumba from Matanzas. Abakuá music from Los Muñequitos. Síntesis feat. Lázaro Ros: Titi-Laye. We talk to Carlos Varela. Carlos Varela: Guillermo Tell, live. Carlos Varela: Tropicollage. Los Van Van: Deja la Bobería.

The Cuban Connection 4 (1992):

Dan Den: Te Corto el Agua y la Luz. We talk with Pablo Menéndez of Mezcla. The twin guitars of Dúo Confluencia. A live all-star jam featuring Frank Emilio Flynn, Pancho Amat, and Tata Güines. René Baños of Grupo Vocal Sampling shows how to arrange mulitple percussion for a solo voice. Adalberto y Su Son: Y Qué Tú Quieres Que Te Den? Issac Delgado: La Novia Que Nunca Tuve. Pablo Milanés: Identidad. Carlos Varela, live: Círculo de Tiza. Cuban heavy metal band Zeus.

The Cuban Connection 5 (1993):

Adalberto Alvarez: Dale Como E’. Los Van Van: Que Le Den Candela. NG La Banda: Échale Limón. Dan Den: Viejo Lázaro. Issac Delgado: Que Ganas. Paulito y Su Élite: Tú No Me Calculas. Orq. Original de Manzanillo: A La Hora Que Me Llamen Voy. Orq. Aragón: Se La Ganó. Radio Reloj.

The Cuban Connection 6 (1994):

NG La Banda: Picadillo de Soya. We talk to Yumurí (Moises Valle) and Maraca (Orlando Valle). Dan Den: Piano con Rumba. Los Van Van: Que Sorpresa (Voy a Publicar Tu Foto en la Prensa). A visit to Güines, interviewing José Angel Navarro, who translated batá music to solo guitar. Carlos Varela: Habáname. We talk to Carlos Alfonso of Síntesis. NG La Banda: La Bruja.

The Cuban Connection 7 (1995):

Adalberto Álvarez and Issac Delgado: El Chévere de la Salsa y El Caballero del Son. Los Van Van: Yerbero, Ven. NG La Banda: Las Películas del Sábado. We visit a rehearsal by the Conjunto Folklórico Nacional. José Ángel Navarro. Gema 4: Como Fue. Grupo Vocal Sampling: La Negra Tomasa (Kikiribú Mandinga). Carlos Varela: Como los Peces. Emilio Salvador (feat. Pablo Milanés): Puerto Padre.

The Cuban Connection 8 (1996):

Los Van Van: Soy Todo. NG La Banda: De la Parte de Afuera, Camará. We talk to Elio Revé. Revé y su Charangón: Se Quemó Marcelina. Adalberto y Su Son: El Baile del Toca-Toca. We talk to Isaac Delgado. Issac Delgado: ¿Paró, Por Qué? Oscar Valdés and Diákara. Irakere: Feliz Cumpleaños. Síntesis: Amalia.

The Cuban Connection 9 (1996):

El Médico de la Salsa: Arriba de la Bola. Paulito F.G. y su Elite: Ina. Issac Delgado: Pa’ Que Te Salves. Charanga Habanera: Lola, Lola. Irakere: Tres Días. We talk to Juan Formell. Los Van Van: Deja la Ira. Maraca feat. Yumurí: La Vela. Silvio Rodríguez: Alas de Colibrí. Gonzalo Rubalcaba: Imagine.

The Cuban Connection 10 (1997):

Greatest hits from earlier episodes, plus Los Van Van: ¡Ay, Mujeres! Issac Delgado: Deja Que Roberto Te Toque. Paulito F.G. y su Elite: Ella y la Noche. Chappotín y sus Estrellas feat. Miguelito Cuní: Camina y Prende el Fogón.

The Cuban Connection 11 (1998):

Paulito F.G. y su Elite: La Especulación de La Habana. Los Van Van: Te Pone la Cabeza Mala. Charanga Habanera: El Chen. NG La Banda: Veneno. Rojitas: Se Acabó y Tú Lo Sabes. Síntesis: Asojano Mawé. Arsenio Rodríguez: Oye Como Dice. Afro Cuban All Stars feat. Pío Leyva: Pío Mentiroso. El Médico de la Salsa: Que Le Llegue Mi Mano (Mami...Ya Tengo Amigos en Miami) 

The Cuban Connection 13 (2000):

Estrellas de Chocolate: La Brocha. Benny Moré: En el Tiempo de la Colonia. Benny Moré: Mi Amor Fugaz. Felo Bergaza: Vuelo del Moscardón. We talk to Pancho Amat. Pacho Alonso: Que Me Digan Feo. Chappotín y sus Estrellas feat. Miguelito Cuní: Camina y Prende el Fogón. Orquesta Aragón: El Agua de Clavelito. Orquesta Aragón: Los Problemas de Atilana. Pello El Afrokán: María Caracoles. Pello El Afrokán: Ileana Quiere Chocolate. Orquesta Riverside: Anda Machetero. We talk to César “Pupy” Pedroso about how Los Van Van got its name. Los Van Van: Marilú. Los Van Van: Llegué Llegué / Guararey de Pastora.

The Cuban Connection 14 (2001):

Live shots from the 2000 Havana Jazz Plaza festival, plus: Carlos Manuel: Malo Cantidad. Los Van Van: El Negro Está Cocinando. Issac Delgado: El Solar de la California. Paulito F.G. y su Elite: La Última Bala. We talk to Barbarito Torres. Barbarito Torres: Sarandonga. Pedro Luis Ferrer: La Tarde Se Ha Puesto Triste. We talk to Carlos Varela. Carlos Varela: Más Allá. Orquesta Aragón: No Me Molesto. Orishas: 537 Cuba. Orishas: Canto Para Eleguá y Changó.

The Cuban Connection 15 (2001):

Benny Moré: Cienfuegos. We talk to tresero Félix “Felito” Molina in Cienfuegos. Septeto Raíson. Marcelino Guerra. Silvio Rodríguez: Carretón. We talk to Miguel Baró, of the Arará (Dahomeyan) cabildo Ojundegara in Jovellanos, and hear Miguelina Baró singing with Ojundegara. Los Muñequitos de Matanzas: Ese Señor. Issac Delgado: Santa Cecilia. Arsenio Rodríguez: Santa Cecilia. Compay Segundo: Longina. A toque de santo at Havana’s Yoruba Museum, recorded live. Dan Den: Viejo Lázaro. Issac Delgado: Amor Sin Ética. Issac Delgado: Gracias a la Vida.

The Cuban Connection 16 (2002):

Los Taínos, live. Polo Montañez. We talk to Caridad Diez, producer of La Rumba Soy Yo. Grupo Clave y Guaguancó: Maileo. Lázaro González: Un Violín para Chano. Charanga Habanera: Bla Bla Bla. Pupy y Los Que Son, Son: Las Mujeres Son. A conversation with anthropologist José Millet. The Tumba Francesa. A visit to the spiritist Madeleine in Cobre. A visit to Los Universales de Son of Guantánamo. Reyes de la Calle: El Mundo Va a Acabarse.

The Cuban Connection 17 (2003):

Tumba Francesa. An informal bolero performance by members of the Familia Valera Miranda in Santiago de Cuba. A rehearsal by the Conga del Barrio de los Hoyos of Santiago. El Diamante del Son: Ayúdame, Babalú. More from Dr. José Millet. A visit to the Playa de Cajobabo. A return visit to the spiritist Madeleine in Cobre. The Grupo Changüí de Guantánamo, live and on CD. The 150th birthday celebration of José Martí in Holguín. A palo monte song, live. The Grupo Nengón y Quiribá, recorded live in the countryside outside Baracoa, playing the antique cousins of the son. Faustino Oramas “El Guayabero”: “A mi me gusta que baile Marieta.”

The Cuban Connection 18 (2003):

Los Astros, from Santiago de Cuba. A visit to DJ Shagoo, producer of Cuba’s first reggae star, Candyman. Manolito y su Trabuco, live in Santiago. Los Van Van: ¿Qué Cosa Tiene La Vida? Pedro Calvo: El Sábado es Sensacional. Charanga Habanera: Somos los Cubanos. Los Compadres: Sarandonga. Celia Cruz: Yo Viviré.

originally published by Afropop Worlwide

Kind of Purple: Jazz Musicians On Prince

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Dialogues in Cuban Art- A Symposium between Cuban and Cuban American artists from Havana and Miami.

By: Dialogues in Cuban Art and Perez Art Museum

Dialogues in Cuban Art is a two day symposium that explores the intellectual exchanges between Cuban and Cuban-American artists, curators and cultural workers from Havana and Miami. Some of the ideas guiding this convening will investigate emergent transnational relations between Cuban and Cuban American artists; explore an understanding of Cuban art beyond nation and diaspora; and address how opportunities for mutual understanding shape and inform cultural production. All three panel discussions will be simultaneously interpreted from English to Spanish.

Miami Program

PAMM: Day 1

Panel 1 – Introduction about the project: Elizabeth Cerejido
Shifting Perceptions, Transnational Movements between Miami and Havana
Panelists: Sandra Ramos, Alexandre Arrechea, Glexis Novoa, Emilio Pérez. Moderator: Elizabeth Cerejido

Panel 2 – Mapping the Development of Cuban Art in Miami: Private Consumption, Public Circulation
Panelists: Ramón Cernuda, Fred Snitzer, Peter Menéndez, Howard Farber, Moderator: Juan Martínez

Dialogues: Cuban and Cuban-American Artists in Conversation: Part 1
Humberto Díaz
Bert Rodríguez
Reynier Leyva Novo
Marcos Valella
Juana Valdés
Ruben Millares
Felipe Dulzaides

Wilfredo Prieto
Moderator: Rene Morales (Curator, PAMM)

PAMM: Day 2

El arte cubano a través del lente institucional: desde lo oficial a lo alternativo

Aylet Ojeda (Curator, Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes)
Ibis Hernández Abascal (Curator, Centro Wifredo Lam and part of curatorial team of the Havana Biennial)
Onedys Calvo (Curator, Factoría Habana)
Nahela Hechevarría (Curator, Contemporary Art, Casa de las Américas)
Sandra Ceballos, (Founder, Director, Espacio Aglutinador)
Moderator: Eugenio Valdés Figueroa (Director, CIFO)

Dialogues: Cuban and Cuban-American Artists in Conversation: Part 2
Glenda León
Ernesto Leal
Inti Hernández
Yornel Martínez
Leyden Rodríguez Casanova
Lázaro Saavedra
Manny Prieres
Moderator: Yuneikys Villalonga

Art exhibit Drapetomania: Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba. Past exhibition curated by scholar Alejandro de la Fuente.

Art exhibit Drapetomania: Grupo Antillano and the Art of Afro-Cuba. Past exhibition curated by Alejandro de la Fuente. 

Locations:

Galeria Universal, Santiago de Cuba (April- May 2013); Centro de Desarrollo de las Artes Visuales, Havana (August 3-31, 2013). New York City (Spring 2014), San Francisco (Fall 2014) and Cambridge, MA (Spring 2015). 

Link

Another link

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Musicabana Festival. May 5-8, 2016. Habana, Cuba. Line-Up

Carlinhos Brown, Brazil

Sean Paul, Jamaica

Pablo Milanés, Cuba

Carlos Varela, Cuba

Mayra Andrade, Cape Verde

Habana D' Primera, Cuba

Yoruba Andabo, Cuba

Juana Bacallao y Tiembla Tierra, Cuba

Ibeyi, France/Cuba

Interactivo, Cuba

Kelvis Ochoa, Cuba

Adonis y Osaín del Monte, Cuba

Pedrito Martínez, Cuba

Orquesta Aragón, Cuba

Los Van Van, Cuba

And more...

For more info, please visit: Musicabana Festival

Habana Dreams. Pedrito Martinez's forthcoming album. by Billboard.

Originally published by Billboard

Hear Pedrito Martinez's New Song With Ruben Blades: Exclusive

4/1/2016 by Judy Cantor-Navas 

Pedrito Martinez Group

DANIELLE MOIR

The Cuban percussionist and singer trades riffs with the salsa star on the first single from Martinez’s Habana Dreams album.

The international spotlight that was on the Rolling Stones recent concert in Havana left Cuban groups in the shadows. And lately, with American artists in something of a race to perform on the island, Cuban musicians have been largely left out of the buzzing conversation about music in Cuba; something that’s both ironic and just wrong.

Habana Dreams, the new album (June 10, Motema Music) from percussionist and singer Pedrito Martinez, who performed with his band at a party for the Stones in Havana last week, should bring some deserved attention back to the artists from the Caribbean musical superpower, who were rocking before rock-and-roll was born, and who throughout the decades have continued to stage musical revolutions no matter what the political climate.

Today, exclusively on Billboard, we premiere the first single from Habana Dreams, “Compa Galletano,” featuring Ruben Blades.

Martinez has lived in the New York City area since 1998. He was a member of the innovative Latin fusion band Yerba Buena, and, after years playing with his own band at a small Cuban restaurant in Manhattan, he’s recently become a sort of Cuban music ambassador, performing around the city as well as, increasingly, on tour. This spring he’ll appear at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, as well as at Havana’s Musicabana Festival, among other dates. Habana Dreams was recorded in Havana with top Cuban musicians and other special guests including Blades, in addition to the members of his Pedrito Martinez group.

The record marks a homecoming, although Martinez has never strayed from his Cuban musical and spiritual roots, staying true to sacred Afro-Cuban traditions as well as Cuban popular forms including the ritually-derived rumba, and the Latin-jazz infused timba, contemporary Cuba’s polyrythmic dance music style. In the 1990s, timba became known abroad as Cuba’s answer to salsa, but, like other contemporary Cuban sounds, it failed to make a commercial impact in the United States. On this album, Martinez suggests it’s time to take another listen.

Ruben Blades, the international star who was part of the creation of salsa in New York in the 1970s, became a fan of Martinez, attending his shows, and now taking on the role of what the liner notes call a “godfather” of the Habana Dreams album. Blades, of course, is no stranger to Cuban music’s historical influence and its fundamental role as the base of that urban New York sound that became known as salsa, or to Cuba’s contemporary players. The Panamanian singer-songwriter included his version of the song “Muevate,” by Juan Formell, the founder of leading Cuban contemporary dance band Los Van Van, on his 1985 album Escenas; through the years he shared international stages with Van Van in an era when most U.S.-based Latin music stars, influenced by what was considered politically correct in Miami, publicly avoided associations with the island.

“Compa Galletano” has roots in traditional rumba, and lyrics sung by Martinez in the African Yoruba language, as well as in Spanish. Blades puts a time code on the song when he riffs that “el mundo espera que se levanta el bloqueo” (“the world waits for the embargo to be lifted.”) On the track, Martinez and Blades joyfully improvise, musicians spread out with conversations between piano and conga. Synth chords, an American-influenced hallmark of the contemporary Cuban sound, make an appearance, as do handclaps.

Debuting his new album with a single that clocks over six minutes, it’s obvious that Martinez is not making a play for mainstream Latin radio. With “Compa Galletano” and the Habana Dreams album, he’s doing what comes naturally -- putting the spotlight on contemporary Cuban music.

Anthony Hamilton: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

Review by the NYT of Dayme Arocena's recent performance in New York.

Originally published by the New York Times

Review: Daymé Arocena Mixes a Cosmopolitan Vibe With an Earthy Tone

By JON PARELESMARCH 23, 2016

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Daymé Arocena invoked the saints of oceans and rivers at Subrosa. CreditEbru Yildiz for The New York Times 

The Cuban singer and songwriter Daymé Arocena was dressed entirely in white, the color of santería ceremonies, when she performed at Subrosa on Tuesday night, and she started her late set with a song invoking Yemayá and Ochún, the saints of oceans and rivers. Her voice opened up to approach the earthy, full-throated cries of Afro-Cuban ritual chants. But the music surrounding her was far from traditional. It was jazz from a piano-bass-drums trio, with the harmonic and rhythmic complexities of hard-bop and the melodic grace of Brazilian pop. Ms. Arocena unites cosmopolitan musicianship with deep roots.

Her other songs — mostly from her 2015 album, “Nueva Era” (Brownswood) — were considerably more secular. With lyrics in Spanish and English, they addressed topics like troubled romance, a dusty house and, in “El Ruso,” the Russian-language classes that were once required in Cuban schools.

Her songs are built on bass riffs: jumpy, syncopated ones, often in odd meters, that were nimbly played by Rafael Aldama Chiroles on six-string electric bass. Her verses could take daring leaps and sophisticated chromatic rambles, underlined by Jorge Luis Lagarza Perez on piano, while her choruses returned to the succinctness of pop, at one point getting the audience to clap along.

But Ms. Arocena’s songs were above all about mutability. The only certainty was that they would end up a long way from where they began. Introspection gradually, and naturally, evolved into drama or exultancy; a percussive incantation, “Don’t Unplug My Body,” went through variations both assertive and seductive. Her trio’s arrangements moved among quiet transparency, bluesy swing and percussive intricacy, shifting harmonies along the way. In more than one song, Ms. Arocena and her group changed key together for the very last chord.

As the songs unfolded, Ms. Arocena deployed a kaleidoscope of voices: low and breathy, teasing and sultry, clear and euphoric, articulately scatting, even at one point using her hand like a mute to create an abstract wah-wah effect, batting rhythms back and forth with Raul Herrera Martínez on drums.

Between songs, Ms. Arocena was an endearing storyteller, explaining some of her songs with earnest sincerity and wry twists. And when she sang, she had a beaming, irrepressible smile, the expression of a virtuoso who knew she was pushing each song toward gleefully unexpected places.

Pavel Urkiza con Iván Ruiz Machado y Kiki Ferrer-"Drume negrita" (Ernest...

"Ivy League Rumba." Forthcoming PBS Documentary. Brown University Latin Jazz and Pop Festival.

Glad to be part of this forthcoming PBS documentary called "Ivy League Rumba," by Miami-based filmmakers Joe Cardona and Ralph Gonzalez. 

The film features stunning musical performances from last Fall's Brown University Latin Jazz and Pop Festival, plus lots more. I had the pleasure to participate in that event at a panel about Cuban music together with Ned Sublette, Martin Cohen and Arturo Gomez.

The film's premier is expected by the end of March.

Here's a sneak peak teaser. 

Transnational Cuban Music in Miami and the U.S.: Spring is in the Air!!!

Telmary in Habana 305- March 5

Carnaval on the Mile, March 5-6

Volcan 

Palo!

Picadillo Carlos Varela @ Flamingo Theater- Brickell-March 11

Global Cuba Fest- Miami-March 17-19

Dayme Arocena-U.S. Tour-

March 17-April 3

Tiempo Libre @ El Tucán- March 17

Mr. Haka @ Club Habana, March 18

Timbalive at MDC Live Arts, March 18

Sounds of Cuba @ SXSW Festival-Austin-March 19

Calixto Oviedo and the Cuban Jazz Quintet @ WDNA- March 19

Vanito Brown at Cuba 8-April 2

Ibeyi @ the North Band Shell- May 8

Video- Panel on the Cultural Identities of Cuban-American Youth: Language, Literature, Music and the Arts. Cuban Research Institute. Florida International University. February 12th, 2016

Video of the Panel on The Cultural Identities of Cuban-American Youth: Language, Literature, Music and the Arts, organized by the Cuban Research Institute. Florida International University. February 12th, 2016.

My presentation in Part. 3 (from 22.21 min.-) and Part. 4.

 For the whole 5 parts of the video you can visit the following link from the Cuban Research Institute.