¡Cubanismo! certainly has good timing. Releasing their first album just before the seminal world music success of Buena Vista Social Club, they were poised to make a real impact with their melodic Cuban music that kept its roots strong but also reached outward with a rhythmic kick and a sense of adventure. The band was formed by trumpeter Jesús... [+] Read More

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The son of Spanish immigrants, Cuban-born singer/songwriter Carlos Varela started composing in 1978. Two years later, he joined La Nueva Trova, a local movement led by Silvio Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes. Carlos Varela graduated from the Cuban Art Institute ISA with an acting degree. He recorded his first album, Jalisco Park, in 1989, which was... [+] Read More

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Led by Juan Formell, Los Van Van have become one of the most successful son groups in the world. To the Afro-Spanish sound of traditional Cuban music, Los Van Van have added a strong jazz emphasis. It is this fusion that has led to their popularity outside of Cuba and to a series of foreign record deals. They can be heard on Songo, Sandunguera,... [+] Read More

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Along with Silvio Rodriguez, Pablo Milanés was one of the crucial figures in Cuba's nueva trova popular-song movement of the late '60s; sponsored by Fidel Castro's government, the collective of nueva trova musicians were essentially supposed to reconfigure and update traditional Cuban folk musics for the nation's new, modern, post-revolutionary... [+] Read More

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