Santiago de Cuba: The Capital of Son
The irrepressible eastern city once again stands as the Capital of Cuban Son, October 15 - 19. The International Matamoroson Festival holds its 16th edition and is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Miguel Matamoros, 95th birthday of Benny More and the 500 years of the foundation of Santiago de Cuba. The Festival also pays tribute to the 75th anniversary of the Aragón Orchestra, Adalberto Álvarez y su Son for three decades of work and the 45 years of Van Van.
Click on Santiago de Cuba: A City of 500 Years
The opening ceremony took place at Heredia Theater with performances by “Septeto Santiaguero”and Dominican singer José Alberto "El Canario", with the repertoire included in the album No quiero llanto -Tributo a los Compadres, which counted on the collaboration of acclaimed Latin American artists.
The event includes theoretical sessions that are carried out at UNEAC’s Titon Hall and tackle different matters related to son. Author Liliana Casanellas’ book entitled “Cuban Dance Popular Music. Lyrics and Valuable Opinions (18th-20th Centuries)” is going to be launched within the framework of those lectures. Liliana Casanellas got the 2013 Cuban Catauro Award.
The program of activities is made up of such fine arts exhibitions as “De Santiago traigo un son”, popular fiestas in theaters and public squares and the screening of documentaries on the musical genre.
The Festival is held on alternate years at Santiago de Cuba City, where outstanding national and international groups come together to keep on cultivating son, such as Poder Latino, Son Entero, Maravilla de Florida, Pupy y los que son, son, Karachi, Cándido Fabré, Moneda Nacional, Angelito y su Banda, Sones de Oriente, Eliades Ochoa and Original de Manzanillo; and, on the international side, El Canario, from Dominican Republic; Philippe Bernard, Belgium; Vocal Piano Group, from Argentina; El Cany, Argentinean DJ; and Tahe Antoine, from Ivory Coast.
Some of the main stages for Matamoroson are Mariana Grajales Amphitheater, Heredia Theater, Son Hall and Casa de la Trova’s Stars Hall.
The popular Los Van Van orchestra will be putting an end to the Festival on Sunday 19, 10:00 PM at Santiago de Cuba’s Antonio Maceo Revolution Square.
Sonis an indispensable musical genre in Cuba’s nationalculture, it was born at the eastern mountains and Santiago de Cuba is labeled its cradle.
