The boys all have their visas ready to go and are touring in PERU.

Sales in Ottawa and Montreal are also very good. The Ottawa crowd is especially excited since this will be the first time for them.

We will be on TLN and radio within the next week and have an English and Spanish version of the commercial.

Calls are coming from groups of people in Miami – New York and Rochester as well as a group from Michigan.  Calls have come in from London, Kitchener Guelph and Hamilton, where fans are also on board.

I have been having lots of fun talking to some really nice poeple on the phone who are excited about making the trip down to TO.  It’s wierd , the same types of calls came for Los Van Van …  on the night of the event I felt like in was at a family reunion when I finally met everyone face to face !  Our mission is to make this event a real night out on the town.

Door price will be $45 so we recommend to buy in advance.  Superlatin Music will have tickets on sale up to 6pm night of the show (unless there is a sell out).  Online sales will close show night by 3pm.  Afrolatino Dance Company — Vladimir at Six degrees — Billy at Babaluu’s will also be selling tickets for the show.

We have to kindly request to all and our friends to not ask us to hold discounted tickets at the door on show night.  There are lots of opportunities to buy beforehand and it gets too confusing for those working on the night of the event ( which judging by the last concert may be crazy) . This time Charanga is here on a Saturday night.  I am getting ready for a big big party!!

You tube video, Miami on the tour:

A potent blend of dance-floor friendly salsa and high-energy showmanship… see Cafe Cubano live … feel of the spirit of the legendary dance clubs of Havana. Beginners salsa class with, usually with Ana Machado. DJ Billy Bryans fills the gaps… At Lula Lounge, donde si no?.

Roberto Linares Brown …the award winning CD is back in stock at Descarga.com, click here.

Live Cuban dance music at it’s best: the flavourful horns, the measured percussion, the improvisation, the sabor… it’s all here in the live performance of this dynamic band.

Linares Brown was a catalyst for the creation of Lula Lounge’s popular Havana Norte series which has featured a who’s who of Toronto-based Cuban musicans. Linares Brown has been contributing to the series since 2006 performing original compositions that became the basis of his brilliant 2008 solo release, “Que No Se Pierda La Essencia”. After an extended tour of Europe, Roberto Linares Brown (aka El Seña’) has returned to his home in Canada – boasting new compositions and with a renewed desire to take Toronto’s salsa scene to the next level.

Tinariwen is a band of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali.Formed in 1979, they rose to prominence in the 1980s as the pied pipers of a new political and social conscience in the southern Sahara, and the icons of a whole generation of young Touareg living in exile in Algeria and Libya. In the early 2000s Tinariwen started to gain a following outside Africa, first in the world music community, and then in the wider rock scene, thanks to frequent tours and appearances at major festival in Europe and the USA. After releasing their second CD album ‘Amassakoul’ in 2004 they become one of the most successful African groups in the world, and won several prestigious awards. They sing about the suffering and exile of their people, the semi-nomadic Kel Tamashek of the southern Sahara, and about their beauty of the desert home.

$30 advance, $40 at the door… NOTE they are almost sold out we are advised!  They sold out Mod club last year.  Promoter Small World Music.

Phoenix concert theatre, March 4 at 8 PM.

The owners of Gallery 345 found 2 excellent pianos available when York University disposed of them.  They brought them to the gallery and started using the place as a music venue as well as a gallery… based on these excellent instruments and the acoustics of the gallery.

Top pianists do pass the word about this kind of place … now, an invitation to play here is welcomed like few other places.  Already the list of past concerts here is impressive.

And David Virelles qualifies as one of the great musicians, by nature as well as training, you should try to hear at this place.

Like many of his generation in Cuba who study at the numerous academies of music, he was required to meet high standards mastering the classical theory and repertory.  And also absorbed the poly-rhythmic Afro-cuban heartbeat of music that suffuses Cuba.   When it became clear this young student was special even amongst the best Cuban musicians, Jane Bunnett sponsored him to come to Canada and complete his musical education with some solid Canadian credentials, at Humber College.

—

The Art of the Piano: David Virelles
Sunday March 14 at 3 PM

“The idea of creating art that expands consciousness is what interests me. Music has the potential to achieve exactly that. The Masters had deep knowledge of its architecture; they developed a kind of art of the highest order that was not only creative and original but also has that quality that opens the mind and exhorts to learn more about ourselves.

“Through composing, I try to come up with a representation in sound of different ideas that were used as a point of departure for generating the musical material, i.e. cycles found in Nature (orbits, night and day, etc), Afro Cuban mystic-religious concepts, dualism, geometry, visual arts, writing systems, language, and many other elements that are a central part of our experiences as human beings. My ultimate goal is to describe through music those experiences that are particular to the way each of us live and think, hopefully encouraging people that listen to it to keep looking for answers.”
– DAVID VIRELLES

This highly skilled pianist has received several accolades recognizing his outstanding talent. In October of 2003, he was chosen as the recipient of the first Oscar Peterson Prize, presented by Peterson himself at the ceremony held at Humber College. Also, when he was only 15, Virelles won the first prize at the Concurso Jojazz in Havana, adjudicated by several of the most prestigious jazz musicians in Cuba. In 2006, David Virelles and his quintet won the Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors, the highest distinction awarded at the Montréal Jazz Festival. The same year, Virelles was nominated for the Canadian National Jazz Awards as Best Latin Jazz Artist, and he won the CBC Galaxy Award for Rising Star.

In 2007, the David Virelles Quintet released their debut album, Motion, on Justin Time. The CD features saxophonist Mark Turner, Brazilian musician Celso Machado as well as David’s father, José Aquiles. Motion displays his virtuosity and his endeavor to create original music that is both an invitation to reflect as well as a sonic depiction of life’s experiences.

His rapidly growing reputation was confirmed with his winning the Louis Applebaum Composer’s Award in 2008. That award recognizes excellence in a body of work by an emerging artist in the field of jazz composition.

He will be playing with another great innovator, Steve Coleman, in 2010, as well as continuing to develop his own musical concepts and abilities.

www.myspace.com/davidvirellesquintet

THE POWER OF COMMUNITY: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil

A film on how Cuba responded to the challenges of peak oil in the 90’s. Followed by a discussion on creating a more local, low-energy society and addressing the challenges of climate change in our own neighbourhood.

FREE FILM SCREENING AND DISCUSSION

When: Tuesday, March 2nd at 6:30 pm
Where: Annette Street Branch Library, 145 Annette St. (E of Pacific, W of Keele), Community Room 1

For more information:

Contact Name: Rita Bijons
Website: http://green13toronto.blogspot.com
Phone: 416 766 6331

Viva Cuba kick-starts the Cuban Film series (by the CCFA Toronto) at Tinto.   Screenings will take place on the last Friday of the month, typically. This opening session will take place Friday, February 26 at 7 pm.

This 80 minute film was conceived as especially appropriate for an audience of children but is so well crafted that adults alike have enjoyed it worldwide.

Admittance is free of charge.

Tinto Coffee House
Fair Trade – Latin American – Organic
89 Roncesvalles Avenue  (north of Queen St West)
Toronto M6R 2K6
Ph/Fx 416-530-5885
www.tinto.ca

And the Miami question is answered: after trying to side-step controversy, they changed the recorded song from Llorando en Miami… to Gozando en Miami.  What do they sing live in the US?  Looks like they remain true tothe original intent: “Llorando en Miami”.

Less than two months til the Toronto date!

AT the club called Havana Nights, in Ajax outside Toronto, they used to hire small bands… mostly Cuban band leaders… who used musicians mostly out of the talent pool of Cuban musicians around the GTA.  The Saturday Latin nights were quite popular.

Then they tried changing hats, to become a pure restaurant dropping the dance club role… hiring a notable chef… and renaming themselves “South Restaurant“.  But… now they are back to dance music, alternate Saturdays for now.  Orlando Cardoso’s 5 man band is holding the job right now.

NEW: every Thursday night, Cuban pianist and bandleader Orlando Cardoso and friends will be playing at the club’s Latin night, same place.

Joaquin has posted this event. .. Rumberos All Star Big Band with special visitor, Changüito.

The famous percussionist from Cuba… who has had personal impact on making the trademark sounds of the most famous dance bands of Cuba in this generation… like Los Van Van, and Pupy y Los Que Son, Son… Changüito.

The night begins with a latin jazz set at 8pm… followed by two full salsa sets later in the night.  Advance tickets available via Paypal, at Lula site.

Vamos a gozar hasta afuera Changüito trajo la paila, y con eso… quien no baila!

The Master Changuito in Toronto

Jalidan Ruiz | MySpace Music Videos