Students from the Mariana de Gonitch Singing Academy will begin a tour of Havana neighborhoods, to pay tribute to the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) on the occasion of its 60th anniversary, and especially to the FMC founder, the late Vilma Espin Guillois.

Tenor Hugo Oslé, director of the academy, said that the tour will begin with a concert in the municipality of Cotorro on April 7th, marking Vilma’s 90th birthday anniversary.

He further said that during the tour entitled ‘Por siempre Vilma’, members of the Mariana de Gonitch Music Academy will perform Cuban musical classics, among them ‘Te doy una canción’, ‘Cecilia Valdés’, ‘La victoria’, ‘La oda a la alegría’, ‘La Lupe’ and ‘La Bella cubana’.

The Academy was formed in 1945 by Russian soprano Mariana de Gonitch herself with the purpose of training young opera singers. After the death of the Russian artist, the project was suspended and it was relaunched again 13 years ago and named after the Russian soprano.