The genuine music, which arises from the soul and with the quality of artists, overwhelmed the rainy Wednesday afternoon on the stage of the Basílica Menor del Convento de San Francisco de Asís, where Radio Enciclopedia offered a gala that praised the wide audience, which always accompanies it and its workers on the occasion of its 55th birthday.

The music, which was the protagonist of the evening, was in the charge of the young clarinetist Janio Abreu, who very aptly chose an outstanding cast to second him on the scene: pianist Harold Charón and bassist Fabricio Pereira, who are members of his quintet ‘Aires de Concierto’. As guests the violinist Julio Valdés, the soprano Cristina Rodríguez, the baritone Ian González and students of the Flute Orchestra of the National School of Art.

The beautiful female voices of Radio Enciclopedia led the celebration, and they were exquisite in their performances from the programs of the radio station: Yailin González, Maurin Delgado, Yori Pousada and Lizandra Amat. Through them, many memories came to mind, indelible passages such as the statement by Commander Ernesto Che Guevara, with his enthusiasm and support, at the founding of the station, when he frequently visited the broadcasting booth.

Pieces of the Cuban and international catalog captivated the audience that, over and over again, applauded the young performers, who are new talents of the Cuban artistic education system.

With high musical maturity, the talented composer and instrumentalist Janio Abreu played the clarinet and the saxophone, along with his musicians, by performing classics such as “Tal vez” by Juan Formell and “Perla marina” by Sindo Garay, with the performance by the violinist Julio Valdés in brilliant solos. Also, the exquisite versions of Abreu on the romances of María La O and José Inocente of the renowned zarzuela of the same name by Ernesto Lecuona, which were performed by the soprano Cristina Rodríguez and baritone Ian González, who received strong applause.

There were other works such as “Vals venezolano” by Antonio Lauro, “Träumerei” by Robert Schumann, “Alumiando” by Joao Leira and Mauricio Lima, which were arranged specially for the occasion by Abreu himself, who proposed to the audience three titles of his reportoire that conformed his high status of artist: “Desde la distancia”, “Pilón” and “Traveling”, which are full pieces of the best of the musical Cuban tradition.

The exclusive moment of the ceremony was the performance of the Radio Enciclopedia theme by the boys and girls of the Flute Chamber Orchestra of the National School of Art. The audience gave a standing ovation to this beautiful performance that identifies us on the radio dial. In addition, on Radio Enciclopedia, young musicians graduated from art schools have a place; in our programs, they broadcast their performances that validate the quality of Cuban music.

In the culmination, the recognition of the work done by those who work tirelessly for the audience of Radio Enciclopedia, amongst them, its director Luisa María Márquez Echevarría, Miida Aleida Fernández, one of our emblematic voices with more than four decades in the station; María Alejandra Tamayo, a host of the programs Gotas del saber, La última hora del día and Cita en Enciclopedia; and the writer and director of the program Mabel Díaz with her favorite show Un secreto para ti.

Radio Enciclopedia on its 55th anniversary is faithful to its pleasant voices and instrumental music, which is always for all moments of life.