Cuban and International Sounds to Fill Varadero Josone in Late August

More than 30 concerts in just seven days will light up the Varadero Josone Festival: Rumba, Jazz & Son, set for August 25–31 in the famous beach resort town. The announcement came Thursday at a press conference at Havana’s Hotel Nacional de Cuba, led by Indira Fajardo, president of the Cuban Institute of Music.

Artists from Puerto Rico, Spain, Colombia, Argentina, and Cuba will take part in the festival’s fifth edition, which will feature four to five performances daily, explained event president Issac Delgado.

On the festival’s opening Monday, the lineup will include Moncada, El Hijo de Teresa y la Llegada, a set of DJs, and Velito el Bufón. Delgado highlighted the strong interest the event attracts from international musicians, many of whom express deep admiration for Cuban music.

Promoted as a vibrant, high-energy conclusion to the summer season, the festival will also feature David Blanco, Rodrigo Sosa, Maykel Blanco, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Spain’s Big Lois, Colombian salsa group Manyoma Brothers, Los Van Van, Cándido Fabré, Roberto Fonseca, Alexander Abreu, Raúl Paz, David Torrens, Issac Delgado and his orchestra, Alain Pérez, Los Cuatro, among others.

At the press conference, Osbel Marrero Acosta, provincial director of Culture in Matanzas, reaffirmed the full support of local authorities and the Ministry of Tourism, noting that the event has been eagerly awaited by the Matanzas public since its inception five years ago.

Also in attendance were Víctor Rodríguez, director of the National Center for Concert Music, and the festival’s artistic director, Edith Massola.

Translated by Luis E. Amador Dominguez