Author: DJ Melao

The recent events of Cuban bands coming into the U.S. is all part of the Obama administration trying to ease tentions in the relationship between the U.S. and Cuba by supporting Cultural exchange. The U.S. sends Kool and the Gang .. Cuba sends Van Van .. can it get any better for both sides?

Just recently Kool and the Gang was live in Havana in a free open air concert which featured more than 100,000 people. It is great to see both American and Cuban artists in both sides of the bridge. Music is culture and as the great Bill Martinez says “Culture Cures“.

Author: DJ Melao

Charanga Habanera’s first U.S. concert in years!

An report from our friends at the Oakland Post Online:

Last week on December 22, the Bay Area, and specifically San Francisco was again the beneficiary of the efforts of a small group of people who believe the motto, “culture cures,” and by producing yet another Cuban music show in the Bay Area, put their beliefs in action. For the first time since the year 2000, a world-famous group, David Calzado y su Charanga Habanera, performed a show and it took place in San Francisco, after which the group returned to give two more shows in Miami – their point of entry. Local attorney, producer, and music lover, Bill Martinez introduced the group onstage at Café Cocomo, a local dance venue that donated their club for the show. “Culture cures,” said Mr. Martinez, who coined the phrase, to a joyous crowd of fans as the show began. Mr. Martinez, long an advocate for opening borders between the United States and Cuba, believes that through cultural exchange, differences can be overcome and once again, open travel and trade can be reestablished.

Local music lover and Post feature writer, Sue Taylor was one of three producers for this event. Earlier this year Taylor produced 5 Cuban music shows at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), and in November, 2 tremendously successful Cuban music shows at Yoshi’s Oakland. “This music truly brings all ages and stages, all races and socio-economic groups together to dance and have fun,” says Taylor who started dancing as she recovered from cancer. “If we can dance together, how can we have differences,” Taylor says. She and her co-producers and friends Shabi Samoohi of New York, and Patricia Morgovsky of San Francisco, with the help of Walter Vela – DJ Waltdigz – in the Bay Area and David Figueroa – DJ Melao – in Miami, are searching for their next project. No doubt the Bay Area will be a beneficiary of their efforts.

Charanga Habanera last came to the United States when older Cuban exiles might have picketed their performances.. But times have changed and under President Obama, so have government policies and practices. This year saw a relaxing of rules governing how often Cubans can visit family members back home. No longer must a family wait three years between visits, unlimited visiting can take place. A recent visit to Cuba by a Congressional delegation head by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, was encouraging to many in the performing arts who have yearned to visit Cuba to study, and to host Cuban artists here. Taylor, Samoohi, and Morgovsky second that notion and will continue to work toward full and open cultural exchange.“We would love to see an ‘Ambassador Lee’ in the near future and full, open cultural exchange established,” says Taylor.

Courtesy of Sue Taylor

Click here for a clip of the historic San Francisco show:

Author: DJ Melao

Some call it the best dance hall in the world. But you won’t find it in any entertainment guides. It’s called Salon Rosado at La Tropical, and it’s in a remote barrio in Havana. Generations of working-class Cubans of have gathered in this extraordinary club to dance all night to the rhythms of the hottest contemporary bands on the island.  La Tropical is the club where generations of working-class Cubans have always gathered to dance, sing, and live la vida loca.

TimbaStars.com has the entire full featured film for you below …

Author: DJ Duni

The legendary Candido Fabre sings to your very own DJ Melao of Timbastars.com while also sending a message to several Cuban Soneros living out of Cuba who have been among Fabre’s rivals in the past. Check out the exclusive footage below.  

Author: DJ Melao

Hundreds of thousands of people filled “La Plaza de la Revolucion” for a peace concert in which the Colombian singer Juanes and other musicians sought to bridge the political divide that has separated Cubans for 50 years.

The concert was shown live overnight on international television. It included viewers in Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community and the centre of opposition to Cuba’s communist-led government. A small group of exiles, who say Juanes legitimised a government that denies its people basic human rights, staged a protest in Miami’s Little Havana.

Juanes, who organized his Peace Without Borders concert in conjunction with the Cuban Government, sang “it’s time to change” and told the audience “the important thing is to swap hate for love”

Image of the mass audience in the concert for peace in Cuba

Below is footage of one of the most remarkable concerts that my generation has witnessed. As a leader in the cultural movement for music without boundaries, the colombian star Juanes sent out a message to the world in a harmoniuos concert of peace and love next to Los Van Van, Pupy, Alexander Abreu, and Silvio Rodriguez of Cuba. The concert reminded me of a modern day woodstock where people joined together in celebration of peace and love. Viva Colombia, Viva Cuba, Viva Juanes, y que viva El Tren de la Alegria!

To watch the entire concert click here

Author: DJ Duni

Havana D’ Primera is finishing up on one of the most talked about European tour’s of the summer! If you are not a believer yet, I have exclusive footage which was provided by Mr.Timba of Martinique (who is one of TimbaStars newest reporters) which will make you a believer of HDP! I highly reccomend that if you have not seen Havana D’ Primera live that you put them on your priority lists of concerts to check out in Havana or in a venue near you.

Here is an amazing live performance of “Cuando Suena el Rio” from their debut album “Haciendo Historia” which is now avalible at www.Prodland.us

Author: DJ Melao

“The rumba has its influences in the music brought to Cuba by Spanish colonizers as well as Africans brought to Cuba as slaves. Rumba developed in the Cuban provinces of Havana and Matanzas in the late 19th century. As an energetic Afro-Cuban dance, Rumba was often suppressed and restricted because it was viewed as dangerous and lewd. Afro-Cuban rumba is entirely different than Ballroom Rumba, or the African style of pop music called rumba. Rumba developed in rural Cuba, and is still danced in Havana, Mantanzas and other Cuban cities as well …”

In Cuba, the Rumba tradition continues .. and this is how it began ..

Do not miss your chance to see Cuba’s legendary Rumba dance/music group “Los Muñequitos de Matanzas” in Cubamemucho Munich 2010!

For more on Los Muñequitos de Matanzas Click here

Author: DJ Melao

The acclaimed Latin superstar Juanes will host a concert for Peace in Cuba’s “Plaza de la Revolucion”.

Cuban exiles in the United States have accused Colombian rocker Juanes of being an accomplice of the Castro regime in their homeland after the rocker announced a concert in Havana. Several Cuban organizations in the U.S. said it was “immoral” of the artist to ignore the situation of the Cuban people. Some threaten to boycott Juanes when the Colombian comes to Miami. According to Ninoska Perez, executive of the Council for the Freedom of Cuba, Cubans in their homeland need democracy and solidarity; not a concert that ignores the “oppression” they have been subjected to for 50 years.

“Apolitical concerts do not exist. Indolence is the worst of evils, because if you don’t take position against a dictatorship, a criminal regime, you become complicit,” the Cuban activist said. According to Juanes’ management, the concerts do not endorse or favor any government. “This is an event of peace, of harmony, of relations. It’s a white concert for the civil society of Cuba,” Juanes’ spokesman Fernan Martinez said.

Source: http://www.colombiareports.com/

Please watch the Juanes in Cuba debate below and feel free to e mail us your thoughts on this situation. I will post some quotes from your reactions on Timbastars.com.  TimbaStars.com supports Artistic Freedom! You can find our email at the end of this post.

Photo of Benicio del Toro in the movie “Che”

Only weeks ago a group of Cuban artists and writers presented Benicio del Toro with the “International Tomas Gutierrez Alea Prize”. Del Toro was the star of the 2008 movie “Che”. His fellow friends and actors Bill Murray, Robert Duvall and James Caan were in attendance in Havana. It is said that Bill Murray stole the show when he improvised a version of the song “As Time Goes By,” where he then jokingly passed around a hat, asking for money. 

Here at TimbaStars we hope that a bit of Hollywood can contribute in the warming U.S.-Cuba relations, and that we may see the making of a  U.S. film in Cuba very soon.

Watch the trailer of the recent hit movie “Che” below. It is almost scary how much Del Toro looks like the real Ernesto “Che” Guevara in his role.

You can email TimbaStars at Timbastars@Live.com

Author: DJ Melao

The legendary Cuban Sonero Candido Fabre asks the Cuban government to reflect on the injustices that are going on in the islands airports while Cuban citizens are returning to their home of Cuba. Fabre explains that many Cubans are being stripped of their goods (Cloth, Hats, etc.) which in many cases are basic necessities for themselves, family, or friends. Fabre made these comments during a public concert in Cuba.

This was a very courageous act from Candido Fabre, and this is one of several reasons why he is one of the most beloved artists in Cuba. Fabre is a true singer of the people and for the people! Fabre plans on recording a new album called “Apretando el Gatillo” which will be an album written for people to reflect on the problems he finds in the Cuba he loves so dearly.

I wonder if this album will ever truly be released? Check out Candido Fabre’s latest comments below

Candido Fabre is scheduled to be in Canada this September alongside Pupy y los que Son Son. For more on Candido Fabre in Canada please Click here

Author: DJ Melao