‘The best percussionists of Cuba’ opened the Fiesta of Drum at Havana’s Mella Theater Tuesday evening, consolidating the event as one of the top such gatherings in the country.
The opening gala showcased the best of that family of musical instruments and the variety of styles that can be played with percussion instruments. Cuban battery players Rodney Barreto, Samuel Formell and Giraldo Piloto stood out at the opening as well as their counterparts Antonio Sánchez and Jim Riley from the United States. The two outstanding US percussionists support the importance and momentum of the festival scheduled to wind up on March 11th. Though the battery was the concert’s main protagonist, other percussion instruments stood out, such as the ‘timbal’, the drums, the ‘chekeré’ and others that provided an extensive sound perspective backed by wind instruments and keyboards.
The Fiesta of Drum, as the festival is known worldwide, includes master classes and concerts dedicated to three renowned Cuban drum players: Chano Pozo, Tata Güines and Angá, and to Brazil as the guest country. Los Papines drum band, the group that took ‘rumba’ to the most important stages worldwide are set to be paid homage during the Fiesta of Drum, as well as the never-ending promotion work of the music and dance genre by Guillermo Amores, main promoter of the Team Cuba of ‘Rumba’, a genre that has been proclaimed an Intangible World Heritage asset.
The event is also dedicated to the memory of Guillermo Barreto, considered one of the best percussionists of all times in the Americas.
