(Prensa Latina – Cumbancha) Havana, Cuba – More than 20 artists from 11
countries will participate in the 18th Golden Boleros Festival, to be held June
10-26 in Cuba, dedicated this time to Brazil. Organizing Committee President,
musicologist Jose Loyola announced Tuesday in a press conference that bolero
followers and researchers from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela,
Ecuador, Italia, Peru, Japan, Spain and Argentina will join the Cubans in the
Festival. The guests confirmed so far, Loyola stated, include Venezuelan Elena
Gil, Mexicans Raul Neri, Nayra Luna and Mari Carmen Pérez, and José Luis Monero,
one of the most popular bolero singers of Puerto Rico. Italian Paola Lorenze,
Ecuadorian Maria Esther Bowen, Spanish Angel Cuenca, and Peruvian Felix Silva
Fernández (Betico), will also attend the Festival. Monserrat Perdomo, Kener Garcia and Jair Rodriguez will represent Brazil. In
previous editions of the Festival, bolero figures such as Puerto Ricans Danny
Rivera and Andy Montañez performed. This year’s festival will open June 10 in
the province of Villa Clara, 287 east of Havana, and then extends to Camagüey
and Santiago de Cuba, before coming to Havana on June 23. Meanwhile, an
international colloquium with 24 speakers from six countries will take place,
including lectures on bolero and the identity of our America, and Brazilian
popular song. Two special dissertations, one by Colombian Pablo del Valle, and
another by Brazilian Ilza Nogueira, on the evolution of the music genre in
Brazil, will be main attractions. Book presentations, concerts, discussions and
the premiere of two documentaries, one of them dedicated to late Cuban singer
Compay Segundo, are included in the Festival program.
The closing ceremony will pay tribute to nine Cuban musicians, including
Marta Valdes and Roberto Sanchez, on their 70th birthday. The Cuban Union of
Writers and Artists (UNEAC), the Ministry of Culture, and the Cuban Music
Institute sponsor the Boleros de Oro Festival, created "to promote one of the
eldest Cuban music genres."
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
