Amaury Pérez and Perfecto Romero Fill Mexico's Former Presidential Residence with Ancient Cuba

July 26, 2022

Cuban singer-songwriter Amaury Pérez, an exponent of Nueva Trova, and photographer Perfecto Romero, filled Los Pinos, Mexico, with a memorable performance by the former and a historical exhibition by the latter.

Press outlets highlighted both events this Sunday. Amaury performed in the open air at the helipad of the former Mexican presidential residence in the Bosque de Chapultepec, today a Cultural Complex in service of the people.

Meanwhile, in the halls of the venue, the exhibition of the Photographer of the Cuban Revolution was inaugurated and a documentary about his life and work was screened.

The presentation by the author of Acuérdate de Abril, his first album, was highly anticipated since the singer had not performed in Mexico for eight years, a country where he developed intense artistic activity and is undoubtedly one of the public's favorite performers and composers, as Milenio wrote.

Amaury performed as part of the cultural event Against the Blockade of Cuba, which has been taking place since the beginning of the month in almost all states of Mexico in tribute to the 69th anniversary of the assault on the Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes barracks led by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro.

Trova, poetry, and bohemia came together at the helipad, an open space that was filled by fans from that era of Amaury's presence in this country, and by new ones from his native Havana with the new compositions from his vast repertoire.

At the concert, by the singer-songwriter's own decision, there was no preset repertoire, but rather the program of interpretations emerged almost spontaneously and by request of the audience during the encounter, such as Hacerte venir, No lo van a impedir, Olvídame muchacha, Diario or Abecedario, among many other emblematic songs.

In the case of photographer Perfecto Romero, visitors to the complex delighted in a chronicle printed in images of the Cuban Revolution captured through his lens, an appendage of his body and mind, as one of the journalists recounted.

Perfecto presented a singular display of images, many of them unpublished, of the most significant episodes of the Cuban Revolution, at the Historic Gallery of the Los Pinos Cultural Center, where he engaged in dialogue with attendees who admired his enviable physical strength at 85 years of age.

In his presentation, he said this is an exhibition that brings together "unique historical moments" that reflect the social and political commitment of an entire people.

"There is no fundamental moment that has not been captured by the retina and camera of Perfecto Romero. The title given to him as the photographer of the Cuban Revolution is completely real and apt," said Cuba's cultural attaché in Mexico, Waldo Leyva, during the inauguration ceremony.

Romero was 22 years old when he went up to the mountains to join the troops commanded by the now legendary Ernesto Che Guevara and, at the guerrillero's orders, became a photojournalist of that decisive stage for Cuba's future.