Singer Argelia Fragoso Again with Us

The interest in Cuban music has grown in recent years on the international scene, Cuban singer Argelia Fragoso, who has been living for years in Spain, told us.

It is a tangible reality, not only because of the presence of Cuban musicians abroad, but also in the interest of artists from other regions in learning about our music, Fragoso said.

"We have had great musicians who have taken to these audiences the endless wealth of our cultural heritage," she said.

According to Fragoso, when referring to international music, we must include Latin American, North American and Cuban music, which in some ways is a fusion of all.

Although she lived a long time in Spain, especially in Tenerife at the Canary Islands, Fragoso also spent time in countries such as Mexico and Germany.

Last Friday and Saturday, Fragoso gave a concert at the Theatre of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana. Her last two albums, Entre Nosotros (Between us) and Canta lo Sentimental (Sings the sentimental), were featured in her concert, where she shared the stage with actress Daisy Granados.

That was a night full of emotion, feeling and warmth. Argelia shined like the star she always has been.

The time passed without the audience noticing. There is so much art and so much talent in this beautiful woman!

Her last concert in Cuba was in November 2010, when she appeared at the Museum of Decorative Arts.

The Golden Voice of Cuba announced that soon she will premiere for the Cuban public the song Somos dos (We are two), a call to love, solidarity and unity, she said. We look forward to the next meeting with this black jewel of Cuban song.

Workers from Many Countries in Cuba on May Day

More than 1,000 union leaders and social and solidarity activists are expected at May Day celebrations in Cuba to demonstrate their friendship.

Workers from almost 50 countries will accompany the Cuban people in plazas and streets during the nationwide parades and celebrations scheduled for May Day. A communiqué from the Cuban Workers Confederation (CTC) published on Monday by Granma newspaper reads that this year’s celebrations will take place under the slogan ‘Unity, Productivity and Efficiency’.

The text adds that the occasion will be a good opportunity to show the people’s support of the accords and measures adopted during the recently concluded Sixth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and to demand the immediate release of the five Cuban antiterrorists who remain unjustly imprisoned in the U.S. since 1998.

As it has become a tradition, Havana’s Revolution Square will host the parade in the Cuban capital, and every municipality and province will hold special celebrations on that date.

Guests to Workers’ Day celebrations include the 6th International May Day Brigade, comprised of 200 people from 27 countries, according to the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP).

Their program includes a meeting with relatives of the five Cuban antiterrorist fighters unjustly imprisoned in the United States since 1998.

Chucho Valdes' Steps Presented in Havana

Cuban world-renowned jazz player and composer Chucho Valdes presente, at Havana’s National Hotel, his latest and multi-award-winning album ‘Chucho’s Steps’.

The musician, accompanied by the members of his band, The Afro-Cuban Messengers, talked about the characteristics of his new album, which was very well received since it was launched in 2010.

Chucho’s Steps was produced by the Colibri recording house of the Cuban Music Institute. It includes eight tracks written by Chucho himself, which impeccably mix up Latin Jazz and Afro-Cuban folklore.

The virtuous Cuban pianist, winner of eight Grammy Awards, pointed out that the making up of this album was very interesting because they incorporated metals, folkloric percussion and vocalists, thus changing the traditional line of Afro-Cuban music.

This album was very well received by the audience and specialized critics. It has won awards in Europe and in the United States, from the Association of Jazz Critics (Chucho’s third CD to receive it), and the 2011 Grammy Award in the category of Best Latin Jazz Album.

Chucho noted that every Cuban art school will have a copy of this CD because it will contribute to the training of new generations of artists.

He announced that, two months from now, he and The Afro-Cuban Messengers will go out on a tour around Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, and Paraguay, to continue promoting this album.

Museum of the History of Sciences under Restoration

Construction workers in the Cuban capital have begun the total restoration of the Carlos J. Finlay National Museum of the History of Sciences, also the headquarters of the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana.

Carmen Pons Morejon, with Havana’s Office of the City Historian, told us that specialists from this institution are undertaking the renovation works in the building, which is regarded as the first museum in Cuba and dates back to 1823.

She explained that the restoration project is financed by the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO); and it is backed up by the Master Plan and the Provincial Commission of Monuments, and the Academy of Sciences of Cuba (ACC).

This building also hosts the Royal Academy of Medical, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana, which was founded in 1861 at the initiative of renowned researchers led by Surgeon Nicolas Jose Gutierrez Hernandez.

On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, the Foreign Relations Secretary of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba said that the Executive Bureau of the International Council for Science (ICSU) will meet in Havana, in May, for the first time since its foundation in 1931.

The restoration works will conclude in 2012.