Gastón Joya, Rolando Luna and Manolito Simonet take home the Grand Prizes of the CubaDisco 2021

May 24, 2021

The phonograms Fusión de almas, by Gastón Joya and Rolando Luna, and Al son del caballero. Alianza Musical de Cuba, by Manolito Simonet, received today the Gran Premio Cubadisco 2020-2021.

During the gala of the top record event on the island, the Minister of Culture, Alpidio Alfonso, presented the statuette to the distinguished creators.

At the event, Manolito Simonet thanked the artists and institutions that collaborated with the final result of the project.

Alianza Musical de Cuba recorded emblematic works by maestro Adalberto Álvarez performed by Alexander Abreu y Havana D' Primera, Elito Revé y su Charangón, Los Van Van, la Aragón, NG la Banda, Alaín Pérez, among other Cuban performers and orchestras, and featured a special invitation from Puerto Rican Gilberto Santa Rosa.

According to the jury, both productions, although different in terms of styles and genres, showed an elevated and innovative perspective of jazz work and popular danceable music.

At the event, the award for Lifetime Achievement was also presented, which this year was deserved twice over by Producciones Colibrí with the albums 100 años del Septeto Habanero and Vicente Feliú canta a sus 70.

The recognition for Artistic Mastery went to the audiovisual Al fin Lecuona, by filmmaker René Arencibia, who documented the mastery of Ulises Aquino and Ópera de la Calle and maestro Frank Fernández alongside the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional.

The statuette for Icon of Cuban Discography went to the production dedicated to the 80th Anniversary of Orquesta Aragón, by Rafael Lay; while two other extraordinary awards distinguished Adalberto Álvarez for the 35 years of his orchestra and the album Mi songo, 50th anniversary of Los Van Van.

The competition was divided into nine areas, 26 musical categories and five audiovisual categories, and according to the organizers, nearly 400 works were submitted and no category remained empty.

For nine days numerous spaces on digital platforms and conventional media projected the event, which celebrated the Iberoamerican Year of Music and had Spain as the guest country.

According to the president of the Cubadisco Prize Committee, René Baños, all the nominees can consider themselves winners since they had to face numerous complexities in the path of production, worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the broadcast of the second part of the awards gala of the XXIV Feria Internacional de la Música Cubadisco, the event that celebrates record production in Cuba concluded.