World Premiere by Cuban National Ballet

The choreography “Cuba inside a piano” by Eduardo Blanco will premiere worldwide on Friday, May 6, by the Cuban National Ballet at the Grand Theater of Havana as part of La Huella de España Festival.

The ballet that lasts about 10 minutes is interpreted by emerging figures of the Cuban ballet company and with music by Ignacio Cervantes, Ernesto Lecuona, Harold Gramatges and Manuel Saumell.

Blanco told that “Cuba inside a piano” is inspired on the Cuban piano repertoire of the 19th century. The young choreographer said throughout the performance, the public will be able to enjoy great moments of the romanticism from that period.

Blanco said he was motivated by the richness of Cuban music and that the choreography mixes technique and neoclassicism.

The ballet will be danced by Yanet Abreu, Ariami Martin, Laura Blanco, Dayis Torrientes, Verena Garcia, Annier Navarro, Randy Crespo, Adrian Masvidal, Ignacio Galindez and Josue Juzti.

The Cuban National Ballet, directed by Alicia Alonso, will dedicate the performance to important Cuban singers and composers.

The program includes choreographies by Alicia Alonso “The Eclipse Night,” “Open Dialogue” and “Impromptu Lecuona,” with music by Jose Manuel “Lico” Jimenez, Ignacio Cervantes and Ernesto Lecuona, respectively.

“Rhythmic” by Ivan Tenorio and music by Amadeo Roldan will be also performed by the Cuban National Ballet.

La Huella de España Festival, an event created and presided over by Alonso, highlights the influence of Spanish customs and traditions in the Cuban culture.

Old Havana Restoration Works Cause Amazement in FITCUBA 2011

The restoration works carried out in Old Havana amazed the participants in the 31st International Tourism Fair (FITCUBA 2011), underway at the Morro-Cabaña Fortresses.

The city historian, Eusebio Leal Spengler, offered a lecture on the restoration of the architectonic and cultural heritage of the city, works in which members of the community contributed as well.

Leal showed pictures of worn-out buildings that were turned into hotels, museums, cultural institutions, and health care and social centers, and talked about renovation works in houses, elderly homes, schools for children with disabilities, and technical schools were 600 youngsters learn the art of restoration.

The city historian mentioned the renovation of the former San Jose warehouses, which today exhibit pieces by Cuban craftsmen, and that of a railway that will offer tours though the Alameda de Paula. He also talked about la Casa de las Tejas Verdes (green tiles house) in Miramar, and the Napoleonic Museum, among others.

Leal noted that they also restored tourist centers that welcome people from all over the world like the Santa Isabel, Conde de Villanueva, Palacio O’Farril, Raquel, Los Frailes, Telegrafo, and Saratoga Hotels; as well as bars, restaurants and store chains in the city.

The city historian invited visitors to walk through Havana so as to actually get to know the city.

Fina Garcia Marruz Awarded Queen Sophia Prize for Ibero-American Poetry

Cuban writer Fina Garcia Marruz has been granted the 20th Queen Sophia Prize for Ibero-American Poetry, one of the most important awards in this genre given by the Spanish institution Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage) and the University of Salamanca, as announced on Thursday at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Fina, born on April 28, 1923, has a degree on Social Sciences and she belonged to the group of Cuban poets and writers of the renowned magazine ‘Origenes’ (1944-1956), along with her late husband Cintio Vitier, Jose Lezama Lima and Eliseo Diego.

Fina is one of Cuba’s most outstanding poets of all times. She worked as a researcher at the Jose Marti National Library and also at the Center of Studies on the Life and Work of Jose Marti, where she was part of a team of authors of a critical edition of the Complete Works of the Cuban national hero. Some of her most important works include ‘Las miradas perdidas’, ‘Viaje a Nicaragua’ and ‘Créditos de Charlot’. In 1990, she received the National Prize for Literature.

Some previous winners of the Queen Sophia Prize for Ibero-American Poetry include Chilean Gonzalo Rojas (1992), Spanish Jose Hierro (1995) and Francisco Brines (2010), Uruguayan Mario Benedetti (1999) and Argentinean Juan Gelman (2005).

The award recognizes a living author for the literary value and contribution of his or her poetical works to the common cultural patrimony of Ibero-America and Spain.

This year’s jury included personalities such as Brines; Nicolas Martinez-Fresno, president of Patrimonio Nacional; Daniel Hernandez, rector of the University of Salamanca; and Jose Manuel Blecua, director of the Spanish Royal Academy.

The award is presented by Queen Sophia of Spain at the Hall of Columns of the Royal Palace in Madrid.

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.