Cuban fever hits London this summer as Havana Club supports a series of events taking place in June and July at the Barbican Centre. These sessions will celebrate the richness in Cuban culture, especially in the fields of music and film, including one-off performances from some of the world’s best musicians, flown in straight from Cuba.
On Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th June from 7.30pm, main acts will include performances from Pablo Milanes, Harold Lopez Nussa and Los Van Van. There will also be free shows in the Barbican foyer from 2pm. In addition to this, Havana Club, the only authentic Cuban rum distributed worldwide, will be running cocktail classes where visitors will be given the chance to discover the history of Cuban rum and learn how to create Cuban cocktails as they are in bars in Havana. The cocktail classes are open to adults aged 18 or over and start at 4pm on both days.
From 3rd to 9th July, the Barbican’s Cine Cuba festival will combine contemporary cinematic perspectives on Cuban life and classics from the foremost filmmakers of the post-revolutionary era. It will include a number of films from Cuba including films from ground-breaking director Humberto Solas and "the Cuban Truffaut" director Pavel Giroud .
Many of these artists’ profiles are featured on www.havana-cultura.com, a cultural initiative developed by Havana Club. The initiative is the first of its kind to profile artists from all disciplines, including musicians, visual artists, dancers, performers and writers raising awareness of contemporary art and culture in the city of Havana. It provides the artists living in Havana a chance to showcase their work, energy and passion to the world and encourages people to explore the talent, vibrancy and modernity Havana has to offer.
Havana Club is closely entwined with Cuban culture and passionate about Havana’s people as well as the rich vibrancy of the city. These events form part of this year’s Cuba50 program, which celebrates Cuban culture and also marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution.
Artist line-up:
Saturday 27th June: Pablo Milanes + Harold Lopez Nussa + Son Tropical + Kumar
Renowned Pianist Harold Lopez Nussa will be one of the main headliners. Nussa, the winner of many classical piano contests, before moving into Cuba’s jazz, traditional and popular music and in 2005 was declared the laureate of the Montreux Jazz Piano competition.
Singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés was a major figure in the 1960s nueva trova song movement and strongly identified with the progressive aspirations of the government of Fidel Castro. The nine members of Son Tropical, from Havana and Santiago, are masters of the Son style, the predecessor of Salsa and so many contemporary Latin styles.
Pre-show free stage from 2pm including Changui de Guantanamo, Omar Puente, London Lucumi Choir and Yoruba Andabo.
Following the main concert, original Havana export, hip hop artist Kumar will be taking to the stage. Kumar, recently signed to Universal records and is one of the most talked about hip hop acts to emerge from Cuba.
Sunday 28th June: Los Van Van + Yoruba Andabo
Cuba's biggest dance orchestra Los Van Van features a collection of virtuoso musicians and have been described as the Cuban equivalent of the George Clinton Band. Yoruba Andabo is a company of singers, percussionists and dancers performing original West African music styles preserved since the 16th and 17th centuries.
Free stage pre-show from 2pm including Son del Tropico, Osvaldo Chacon y su Timba, Charanga del Norte and Leo Duany & Tumbao Tivoli.
July 3rd-9th: Cine Cuba festival
Following the revolution in 1959, Cuban cinema emerged as a unique phenomenon, with directors creating films that reflected their revolutionary ideals and innovative ideas. Returning for the second year and fifty years on from the revolution, the Cine Cuba festival combines contemporary perspectives on Cuban life and classics from the foremost filmmakers of the post-revolutionary era, featuring some of the most acclaimed Cuban actors and directors.
