Yellow Submarine in Havana

Just across the street, where John Lennon is, was inaugurated "Yellow Submarine", an unique cultural recreation center on 17 and 6 St.​​ corner in Vedado, Havana city.

Inspired by the statue of Lennon which is only 96 steps from the place, the old Club Atelier was remodeled, with a different cultural concept, a different style and a new name.

It would be very presumptuous to name the place “The Beatles”, so was chosen "Yellow Submarine", the title of a song that is immediately recognized in both English and Spanish, as a classic in the repertoire of the band.

The Yellow Submarine is present in The Beatles’ music and graphics, resulting a hymn to friendship. Moreover, there are posters, comics, record covers and an animated feature film with that title, which shows characters in a fantastic and unreal world created to convey social messages of peace and love, which achieved great success to six years of Betles’ existence.

Created and recreated through design, lighting and ambience, a look at the heyday of The Beatles, which was added another important aspect, is that Club that is located in the basement of a building, which may be associated sensually with a submarine.

With these premises, from the identifier of the place through a picture is represented the spirit of innovation and spontaneity of the group, to the bar, made with images of album covers of The Beatles, it’s still amazing what was achieved.

The bar takes details from the submarine hatches such as the keels, the tubular forms and proportions.

The color as a protagonist, takes the chromatic Pop harmonies saturated and bright on a dark blue providing the unique intimacy of these rooms which together with the lyrics of songs, captured on the walls, forming an active part of the local graphic, expressed in dynamic style, create empathy in visitors to the area, with the work of The Beatles and closer to the original texts of their most famous songs.

Many are the successes of "Yellow Submarine", which also pay tribute to "The Beatles", this new place is within the main recreation purposes, from a quality program that helps enrich the culture of our people.

At the opening of “Yellow Submarine” was paid deserved tribute to the maestro Leo Brouwer, staunch defender of the music by The Beatles, who on March 1st celebrated his 72nd birthday.

We’ll always remember the moment when Brower publically stated that the Beatles had revolutionized the music of the 20th century. It was still necessary to wait many years to be able to demonstrate our affinity for this great group that has influenced not only the music of Latin America, including Cuba, but has notably influenced very important Cuban musicians.

The opening artistic proposal had the performance of the group "Los Kent" who inspired on John Lennon, Paul Mc Cartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, was founded in 1965 under the direction of René Carlos Carnero and kept in his repertoire The Beatles classic songs forever.

Starting at 9 pm and until 2 am, the entry is paid in local currency and the audience can interact with a live musical group different every night.

"Yellow Submarine" is open from Tuesday to Sunday in the hours of 2 pm to 8 pm, with free admission. During that time, visitors can enjoy songs by The Beatles and audiovisual as well as groups that were highlighted in the 60s and 70s, in the genre pop / rock.

That was an unforgettable night filled with memories and very special gathering of friends, all fans of The Beatles’ music forever.

Following that attempt of the artistic direction and the program of the centre, the place is leaded by two loyal followers and experts of the work of The Beatles.

We’re talking about Ernesto Juan Castellanos, author of four books dedicated to the mentioned band, among which it is worth mentioning “El Stgo. Pimienta vino a Cuba en un Submarino Amarillo” and Guille Vilar, director of the TV program ”A Capella” and the radio program Juventud 2000. They both are the authors of the documentary “Descalzos por Abbey Road” (Bare feet through Abbey Road).

Children of Vallenato Will Perform in Cuba

Under the baton of Andres (el Turco) Gil Torres the Colombian group Children of Vallenato will celebrate in Havana the 200th anniversary of Colombia's independence with a concert on July 20 in the historic center of Havana.

The group will perform in the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, playing 15 songs, which include promenade, son, salsa, puya, pasebol and the reborn vallenato rhythm.

Founded in 1998 by Torres, the accordionist and a student of Colombian music, the group features a rhythm that has recently become more popular, and that carries the identity of Colombian people and their spiritual legacy.

Vallenato arrived in Cuba in the late 1960s, when author Gabriel Garcia Marquez mentioned it in his book One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Marquez honored a rhythm that accompanied him in his bohemian youth in Aracataca and Cartagena of the Indies, in the Colombian Caribbean Coast, and continues accompanying him today.

Recently, Vallenato came to Cuba again in the voice of Carlos Vives and the memorable song, "La Gota Fría, composed by the immortal Emiliano Zulueta.

The Childern of Vallenato made their international debut at the Washington National Symphony Hall with a success which would lead it to travel across many cultural places of America, Europe and Asia.

The Children of Vallenato was created by the Vallenato Legend Festival Fundation, to promote future artist for this musical genre. The group has performed throughout the world, in many countries, including a personal presentation for former US president Bill Clinton at the White House.

Ignacio Piñeiro and Cuban Son

By JESUS RISQUET BUENO

The Septeto Nacional, founded by Ignacio Piñeiro in 1927, is a renowned Cuban orchestra that has recorded dozens of albums and toured the world several times.

In the words of Ricardo Oropesa, the group’s current artistic representative:

“After being nominated for a Grammy, the group’s popularity has significantly increased. Everybody wants to see the Septeto Nacional live, especially those who have never done so before. Internationally, the most popular Cuban music right now is the Buena Vista Social Club, which is Cuban son music, although it doesn’t represent the whole gamut of Cuban son. The popularity of the Buena Vista Social Club artists is quite understandable because the musicians all have an extraordinary level of talent, but their way of playing son is quite different from ours. The Buena Vista Social Club project started only a few years ago, while the Septeto Nacional has been around for more than seven decades.”

Cuban son is both music and dance. The origin of the word is unknown, but is now used to identify a genre of Cuban music that began during the start of the 20th century in the eastern mountainous area of Cuba —land of the son.

One of the fundamental instruments in traditional son is the tres. The tres was invented by Cuban peasants who couldn’t afford a piano or a Spanish guitar. The tres would replace the spot taken by a piano and at its beginnings, was made using household utensils and natural materials.

In Havana, the son from the country became more elegant, and it was Ignacio Piñeiro who was largely responsible for bringing it to the bourgeoisie dancehalls and parties of Havana. Piñeiro changed the face of Eastern-Cuban son by introducing African and Afro-Cuban elements, creating a whole new style.

By mixing in these new elements and fusing different genres, Piñeiro took son into a new era; he dressed up the son in a suit, hat and tie.

Legend has it that it was Pineiro who first incorporated the trumpet into the septet, although opinion is still divided. What remains without a doubt is that it was Ignacio Piñeiro’s Septeto Nacional that made the first recording of a septet with a trumpet, with trumpeter Lázaro Herrera, who recently passed away.

“His creativity allowed him to bend the confines of Eastern-Cuban son, allowing him to expand and develop the music as well as to incorporate lyrics that were more profound and thematically varied,” Helio Orovio, renowned Cuban musicologist.

What is today known as son, owes a lot to this Havana composer, born in 1888 and raised on the African songs and rhythms of the neighborhoods of Jesus Maria and Pueblo Nuevo.

Two elements that set Septeto Nacional apart from all other son orchestras and solidified there place in the history of son were the role of the trumpet and the greater independence given to the singer.

Furthermore, it was the Septeto Nacional who made Piñeiro’s composition Echale Salsita, a huge hit; a song that will forever be remembered as the recording, according to numerous experts worldwide, from which the term ‘salsa’ (to refer to that musical genre of Latin American dance music) came from. Although, this is not with out its controversy, as the song itself only makes a gastronomical reference (“Pour a little sauce on the sausage…”).

During his career, Ignacio Piñeiro wrote 327 sons; including the immortal Echale Salsita, Esas no son cubanas and Suavecito.

Ignacio Piñeiro passed away on March 12, 1969.

Danny Rivera and his New Album in Cuba

The Puerto Rican singer Danny Rivera launched last Tuesday in the central Cuban city of Santa Clara the new album ‘De un pájaro las dos alas’ (Two Wings of a Bird) by Mario Darias and the group Riendas, which includes musicalized versions of 15 poems by Puerto Rican poet Lola Rodriguez de Tio.

Darias, singer and composer, told that he chose La Caridad theater in Santa Clara to launch the album —produced by Danny Rivera— because Rodriguez de Tio recited her poems there more than a century ago and because she was a friend of Santa Clara’s benefactor Marta Abreu de Estevez, who financed the construction of the theater.

Rivera said it was an honor to sing in the same place where Rodriguez de Tio, who was exiled from Puerto Rico and regarded Cuba as her second homeland, recited her poems.

“Bringing the new generations closer to their history is one of the main purposes of the album because it is essential that they understand the legacy of Latin America’s independence heroes,” he noted.

“Cuba and Puerto Rico come together again through music. Our two islands are linked in spite of our different political realities. That guarantees the success and the transcendence of this work,” he added.