The Havana Cultura Tour
Encyclopedia
The Havana Cultura Tour is a cuban music concert tour, taking place in Ibiza
(Spain) during summer. The first edition of the Havana Cultura Tour occurred in July and August 2008, featuring three artists from Cuba: a famous rapper called Kumar, an R&B style singer named Diana Fuentes, both accompanied by DJ Erick Gonzalez. Havana Club
, the original Cuban rum brand, is the organizer of the event.
and blending artists from different musical world, all improvising together.
, jazz
and different Cuban music styles like rumba
, or “son”.
Kumar is a famous rapper whose style oscillates between rap, jazz, funk, reggae and rock’n’roll. He draws his inspiration from the streets of Havana. Kumar released his first solo album Película de Barrio in January 2009 (Diquela Records / Universal) that includes duos with renowned Cuban musicians such as the Ojos De Brujo’s band.
Diana Fuentes
This new artist is immersed in the music since childhood. She was for a time the chorister of Síntesis, X Alfonso, Kumar, and Carlos Varela
, and released this year her first solo album, produced by Descemer Bueno
and tainted with R&B, soul, funk, and pop. She is not only a singer but also the composer of her songs.
• Guarana, located in Santa Eularia in the Northeast cost of the island.
• Las Dalias, located near Santa Eularia.
• Kronoss, located in Es Vive, in the Southeast cost of the Island, near the Platja d’en Bossa.
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
(Spain) during summer. The first edition of the Havana Cultura Tour occurred in July and August 2008, featuring three artists from Cuba: a famous rapper called Kumar, an R&B style singer named Diana Fuentes, both accompanied by DJ Erick Gonzalez. Havana Club
Havana Club
Havana Club is a brand of rum, made in Santa Cruz del Norte, Cuba. The brand was established by José Arechabala in 1878. After the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the distillery and company was nationalized by the Cuban government; subsequently, the Arechabala family left for Spain, then emigrated to the...
, the original Cuban rum brand, is the organizer of the event.
Genesis of the event
The project is born from a desire to promote Cuban contemporary music abroad, and especially in “the capital of subcultures”: the island of Ibiza. The idea was to mix different styles of music, in order to recreate the atmosphere of the descarga – jam session, an unofficial concert improvised in HavanaHavana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
and blending artists from different musical world, all improvising together.
Musical style
The three artists playing together created a style called “Urban Groove”, in reference to the jam sessions which often occur in the streets of Havana. It can be defined as a fusion between hip-hop, funkFunk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and different Cuban music styles like rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
, or “son”.
The Singers
KumarKumar is a famous rapper whose style oscillates between rap, jazz, funk, reggae and rock’n’roll. He draws his inspiration from the streets of Havana. Kumar released his first solo album Película de Barrio in January 2009 (Diquela Records / Universal) that includes duos with renowned Cuban musicians such as the Ojos De Brujo’s band.
Diana Fuentes
This new artist is immersed in the music since childhood. She was for a time the chorister of Síntesis, X Alfonso, Kumar, and Carlos Varela
Carlos Varela
Carlos Varela is a singer-songwriter of nueva trova from Havana, Cuba. In the 1980s he joined the Nueva Trova musical movement, a political and poetic musical genre connected with the Cuban Revolution....
, and released this year her first solo album, produced by Descemer Bueno
Descemer Bueno
Descemer Bueno is a Cuban singer, composer, and producer. His first professional gigs were playing bass with Santiago Feliú, one of Cuba’s greatest troubadours.-Early life:...
and tainted with R&B, soul, funk, and pop. She is not only a singer but also the composer of her songs.
Clubs
The Havana Cultura Tour 2008 took place in 3 clubs:• Guarana, located in Santa Eularia in the Northeast cost of the island.
• Las Dalias, located near Santa Eularia.
• Kronoss, located in Es Vive, in the Southeast cost of the Island, near the Platja d’en Bossa.
External links
- http://www.havanaclubibiza.com/musica_en.asp
- http://www.myspace.com/havanaclubrum
- http://www.myspace.com/kumarmate
- http://www.cubanmusicawards.com/
- http://www.thehmagazine.com/cuban_music/diana_fuentes.htm
- http://www.myspace.com/erickgonzalesdj
- http://www.cubarte-english.cult.cu/global/loader.php?cat=actualidad&cont=showitem.php&id=2249&tabla=entrevista&anno=&seccion=&tipo=