A Bash of Cuban Music Gets Underway this Week

The cream of the top as far as Cuban music is concerned will perform this week in Havana during the 2004 CUBADISCO, an event that brings together the island nation’s very best acts and in which all boundaries between refined and pop music are simply knocked down for the sake of top-quality entertainment. As in previous editions, there’ll be 44 prizes in different categories up for grab in this year’s contest.

This time around, the big party of Cuban music will be dedicated to larger-than-life Cuban musician Benny More and to the Caribbean region. Organizers are also planning to celebrate the 30-year professional career of well-known local performer Chucho Valdes and his band Irakere.

CUBADISCO –an event always full of surprises- will come on the heels of the world’s longest son, a marathoning effort that’s bringing together bands and musicians from all across the island to keep playing nonstop salsa music for over 300 hours.

CUBADISCO Chairman Ciro Benemelis says the performance of this long son is an effort to give each and every province “the opportunity of having some kind of musical Olympiad and showcasing their own musical prowess.”

Organizers are expecting the attendance of representatives from more than a dozen countries, including owners of several record labels. All concerts will be broadcast live on the Internet, courtesy of the Digital Society of Authors and Editors.

In the same breath, attendants will hear a number of lectures dictated by renowned experts. Some of the highlighted titles are “Current Status and Development of the Caribbean Reacording Industry” by Keith Nurse (Trinidad & Tobago), and “Alejo Carpentier: A Glimpse at the Caribbean,” by Victoria Eli, that will touch on Mr. Carpentier’s views about the Caribbean through his musical writings and some of his novels.