Conocer La Habanera Meeting starts on Wednesday
From Wednesday 22nd November, the Cuban capital will enjoy the Conocer La Habanera Meeting, which will run until Saturday 25th November under the direction of its creator, Maestro Cecilio Tieles.
The Habanera is one of Cuba’s most emblematic and universal genres, one that has helped to create and define our cultural identity, says the renowned pianist, according to the general programme.
Other genres have emerged from the roots of the habanera. These include the clave, the criolla, the guajira, the danzón and the bolero. It also gave rise to the Argentine tango and early jazz,» adds the researcher, explaining the two parts of the event, one artistic and the other scientific.
Tomorrow at 11 am, students from the Guillermo Tomás School in Guanabacoa will have their first meeting with Maestro Cecilio Tieles. He will introduce them to the habanera lírica and other peculiarities of this beautiful genre.
The inauguration will take place at 16:00 in the Gisela Hernández Hall of the National Music Museum, with the Exaudi Chamber Choir conducted by Maestro María Felicia Pérez, soprano Johana Simón, tenor Yubal Caleb Peña and pianist Susana Santos.
The Scientific Session, with conferences, lectures and debates, will begin at 9.30 am on Thursday 23rd November in the Gisela Hernández Hall and will last until 17.00.
This edition’s speakers include Dr Argel Calcines on El faro de la habaneridad. Una mirada holística al patrimonio vernáculo; Dr Cecilio Tieles Ferrer will talk about Cecilia Valdés y la temprana contradanza. Meanwhile, the musicologist Sonia Pérez Cassola, director of the museum, will talk about the give and take, the coming and going of the Cuban son guajiro, and Dr Olavo Alén Rodríguez will hold a conference entitled La habanera como símbolo de identidad para todos los cubanos.
The Entrevoces Chamber Choir, directed by Maestro Digna Guerra, and the Vocal Leo Chamber Choir, directed by Maestro Corina Campos, will perform on Friday 24th at 16:00 in the Argeliers León Hall.
Conocer La Habanera will close with a concert featuring sopranos Bárbara Llanes and Johana Simón, tenor Bernardo Lichilín, guitarist Luis Manuel Molina and pianists Vilma Garriga, Susana Santos and Daniela Dandicourt in the gardens of Casa de las Tejas Verdes on Saturday 25th at 18:00.
Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez
