With performances in Havana and several provinces, the event brought together artists from Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Argentina, and Cuba. The Festival, founded in 1987, celebrated the 140th anniversary of “Tristezas” (Sorrows), the first bolero composed by the Santigo de Cuba-born singer and composer Jose “Pepe” Sanchez in 1883.

The event also recalled the 100th birthdays of Latin America’s vedette Rosita Fornes (1923-2020) and Dominican singer Alberto Beltran (1923-1997), known as “El Negrito del Batey.”

“Boleros de Oro” also paid tribute to Cuban singers Elena Burke (1928-2002) and Pacho Alonso (1928-1982) on their 95th birthdays, and the musical transcendence of singer-songwriter and renowned bolero singer Pablo Milanes on his 80th birthday.

The musical event became appropriate for musicians and experts to debate on the value of bolero as a Spanish-Caribbean heritage at the theoretical event.

With the Covarrubias Hall of Teatro Nacional de Cuba in Havana as its main venue, the Festival resumes its international scope this year after the Covid-19 pandemic.

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