The Ciudad del Mar Alternative Music Festival in Cienfuegos province paid tribute to the life and legacy of legendary Cuban singer, bandleader and songwriter Bartolomé Maximiliano Moré Gutiérrez –known internationally as Benny Moré.

The event, with a special edition online this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighted the strong relationship between El Benny –as he was fondly called—and his native Cienfuegos province, located some 230 kilometers east of the capital Havana.

Due to his fluid tenor voice and his great expressivity, he was known variously as El Bárbaro del Ritmo and El Sonero Mayor. Moré was a master of the art of vocal improvisation in Cuban son, and many of his tunes developed this way. Apart from son cubano, he was a popular singer of guarachas, cha cha cha, mambo, son montuno, and boleros.

This year’s virtual edition of the Alternative Music Festival, from July 3rd through the 5th, featured concerts and presentations by singer Waldo Mendoza, the Buena Fe duo, rock and pop musicians David Blanco, Ernesto Blanco, the Karamba band, singer-songwriter Adrián Berazaín and Nelson Valdés, streamed on the Facebook pages of Grupo Karamba, Habana Alternativa, Festival Un Puente hacia La Habana and the festival’s official webpage, in addition to the Suenacubano channel.

Singer Nassiry Lugo offered a Facebook Live concert on the opening day, July 3 from his profile, while Qva Libre and Will Campa shared archive concerts from previous editions of the music event.