The program, scheduled until Saturday, includes performances by orchestras such as El Niño y la Verdad and Alexis El Mura y su Timbre Latino, as well as students from the National Havana School of Music, the exhibition from Cuban Son to Salsa and the lecture “La Semilla del Son” (The Seed of Son).
The audience, who will be present at the Arts Center in that city, near Paris, could also enjoy the film “El Benny, which deals with the life of singer-songwriter Benny More, and dance classes from Cuban styles, particularly “son” and “rumba.” Dominique Roland, director of the Arts Center in Enghien-les-Bains, told Prensa Latina on the expectations about the event, which will give continuity to the 30 years of collaboration with Cuba, and particularly two decades of ties between Cuba and the French city.
According to Roland, who is an expert in and a lover of Cuban culture and history, the prominence of the “son” in this new artistic incursion is no coincidence.
The “son” is a musical and dance genre closely linked to Cuba’s identity and to the contribution of the African and Spanish cultures, a style that aspires to become part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, he said.
Roland will give a keynote speech on Thursday, entitled “La Semilla del Son,” in which he will review the origins and contribution of that genre to popular music and its influence on other rhythms.
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