The first Cuba Festival in Greece will be held for 3 days in Athens on 28-29-30 June 2012.

The festivities will begin with Calles De Cuba (Cuba Streets), which will take place on Thursday 28th and Friday, June 29th in open areas of Athens, with free music-dance performances, seminars of Cuban dances, DJ Set, etc. They will be concluded on Saturday, June 30th with the events of the first Cuba Festival at the training center of Baseball, located in the former American base in Hellenico, with concerts, exhibitions, screenings, work shops and other activities aimed at the promotion of the culture of Cuba. The events of Cuba Festival and Calles De Cuba will be done with the support of the Embassy of Cuba.

Calles De Cuba

Calles de Cuba will present with good company and philosophy, the atmosphere created spontaneously by the alegria of our Cuban friends, who do not hesitate at any time to get a guitar, a percussion and set up the whole celebration singing and dancing.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, June 28, 2012 Thissio: Metro Station

Friday, June 29, 2012 Ermou: Church Kapnikareas

18:00 - 19:00 Omar Cuesta (El Pantera) & DJ El General

19:00 - 19:30 The Music And Dance Of The Orishas In Santeria

19:30 - 20:00 Baclava Cubano

20:00 - 20:30 La Cucaracha

20:30 - 21:00 Estrellas Cubanas

PodiLatin will also participate with their bikes and the frantic Latin mood

Cuba Festival

The 1st Cuba Festival will be dedicated to the Cuban music legend Ibrahim Ferrer, who was the lead singer of Buena Vista Social Club until 2005 and who has passed away. His son Ibrahim Ferrer Jr. on Saturday, June 30, will visit Greece for the first time, to sing with us unforgettable hits of  Buena Vista Social Club and the wider Cuban music.

Ibrahim Ferrer Jr.

After wandering the seas and oceans of the world as a sailor, he left his first passion to dedicate himself professionally to music, prompted by his father, who recognized in him a great voice and an incomparable musician.

He recorded albums “Ibrahim Ferrer” ( Grammy winning) and “Omara Portuondo”. He played with Cuban groups such as “Afro Cuban All Star”, “Los Bocucos” and “Ochungueres”.

In 1999 he moved to Buenos Aires, his wife is from, and his career was a great success. Within a few years, his reputation made him not to miss any special artistic and musical event in Argentina.

He has appeared at major international festivals, such as Latinoamericano (Italy), Jazz Parade (Switzerland), Muhu Music Festival (Estonia), Festival de Biarritz (France), Latinossegor (France), Musiqat (Tunisia), Les Estivales du canal (France), Festival Les Pot'arts (France), Festival des nuits de l'Enclave (France).

His career continued with a DVD live, two recordings: “Son para Ti” (2002) and “Al son de un Homenaje”, in which he becomes the first non-Argentine musician who wins the big prize Gardel in 2008. In 2011 on tour in Europe he presented his new work “Muy mio”.

Ramon Soto & La Cucaracha

Ramon Soto

Great musician who was a member of some of the most important bands in Cuba such as the Orchestra Loyola de Cienfuegos, Orquesta Monumental de La Habana and Conjunto Arsenio Rodriguez. He participated in festivals held in Cuba like Benny Moré Festival and Festival of Son, where he shared the stage with Manolito Simonet y su Trabuco, Polo Montañéz and Buena Vista Social Club.

La Cucaracha

Graduates of important art schools in Cuba have accompanied and have shared the stage with big names of the international Latin music such as: El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Oscar D 'León, Celia Cruz, José Alberto “El Canario”, Pochy y La Coco band, Sergio Vargas, etc.

In Athens, where  they live, were the founders of the Latin All Stars Salsa Orchestra, whose conductor was the Cuban musician Yoel Soto.

La Cucaracha present a varied repertoire from the rich tapestry of the music of Cuba that has been interpreted by major figures: Trio Matamoros, Benny Moré y Buena Vista Social Club, their own versions of known songs of salsa romántica, and compositions of Yoel Soto.

Ivan Lopez

Ivan Lopez, dance teacher and choreographer from Cuba who lives in Greece, will take us with his knowledge to the great festival, as artistic director of Calles De Cuba and to the dancing events to be held in Cuba Festival

The Music And Dance Of The Orishas In Santeria

Santeria  is the traditional  religion of Cuba, which is derived from the religion of  Yoruba who live in West Africa and particularly in Nigeria. It is a direct invitation to the Orishas and is done through 3 drums of Bata'. Each Orisha has his own rhythm on drums, his own song and his dance.

Stavros Dundee (GR) introduces and plays percussion , Iya (large drum), graduated from the Department of Ethnomusicology, SOAS University (School of Oriental and African Studies) in London and for 5 years student of the living legend of Bata ' Cristobal “Larrinaga” member of “Clave Y Guaguanco”.

With them Carlos Menendez (CU) Itotele (Medium drum) one of the best percussion musicians from Cuba living in Greece and Angelos Polihronou (GR) Okonkolo (small drum) teacher at the school QUILOBO in Afro-Brazilian percussion.

Akemis Teran Carrera (CU) participates, singer of the group of conjunto folklorico national de Cuba, the largest state university music in Cuba. In  dance Ivan Lopez (CU), one of the most prominent Latin dancers in Greece, who has studied all the traditional Afro-Cuban dances and Mariella Nelson (CU), a very prominent Latin dancer.

In Cuba Festival - Calles De Cuba all the class of Bata 'African Percussions faculty will form the choir to accompany the percussion and singer.

Baclava Cubano

Baclava Cubano is a group of friends having as main character the Cuban singer Mayte Muñoz Oviedo. The starting point for the creation of the group was and is the love of Cuban music and the need to share it. In this common canvas, each one adds the personal touch, creating a table where the colors mingle son cubano with the bolero, salsa, reggae and rock. Exotic sounds, colors and fragrances, images that transfer you to a casa de la trova of Cuba, song and dance on and off stage .

Omar Cuesta (El Pantera) & DJ El General

Omar Cuesta (El Pantera) and DJ El General will be with us at Cuba Festival - Calles de Cuba and will lead us to the “introduction to the Cuban dances Son, Mambo, Cha Cha and Rueda Casin.”

Exhibitions

In the exhibitions of Cuba Festival on Saturday, June 30 works on Cuba.

Photographic Group Helios

The Photographic Group “Helios” was created in 2010 to promote artistic photography.It consists of Dimitris Agathocles and Nikos Mastrapostolis, who using  lens as a tool try to present everyday moments with their own perspective. Dimitris Agathocles was born in Athens in 1977. He studied Mathematics at the Athens University and works as a teacher in secondary education. Though fond of analog photography, he is seriously thinking  in the past years to move to digital.

Nikos Mastrapostolis was born in Athens in 1975 and studied Law at the Aristotle University. Faithful servant of digital photography for some time.

Martha Apostolidou

Martha Apostolidis is a graduate of the Pedagogic Faculty, Department of preschool teachers of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

In 1999 she graduated from Applied Art Studies specializing in graphic design and illustration in children's books. Since 2011 she is a member of urban sketchers, a global organization of painters drawing on location.