Tribute to Alicia Alonso and Omara Portuondo on Cuban Culture Day

October 11, 2020

With a tribute to Omara Portuondo and Alicia Alonso, two artists who have left an indelible mark on the country's music and dance, the Cuban Culture Day began yesterday, October 10, on the 152nd anniversary of the start of Cuba's wars of independence.

The program of activities dedicated to celebrating the richness of national culture provides, from this Saturday through October 30, the transmission of concerts by the so-called Novia del Feeling, with the presence of great figures of music such as Chucho Valdés and Roberto Fonseca, as well as the promotion of videos of hers in collaboration with other artists.

Likewise, the audiovisual Vida, obra y legado de Alicia Alonso will be broadcast, and materials such as photos, videos and documentaries about the transcendence of the prima ballerina assoluta and her mark on the Ballet Nacional de Cuba until October 20, Cuban Culture Day and the closing date of the Day.

The initiative will be available on Facebook, on the YouTube channel and on the website of the Gran Teatro de La Habana Alicia Alonso.

On its first day the program proposes the screening of an animated film about La Toma de Bayamo and the activation of the 50th Anniversary guerrilla, in all popular councils of the province and intricate areas of the Plan Turquino, with Art Instructors from the Brigada José Martí and selected artistic units.

There will also be the publication of an interview with maestro Gonzalo Bermúdez Teledo as a tribute to four decades of the creation of Grupo Ismaelillo, an action coordinated by the Oficina del Programa Martiano.

In addition to celebrating the 90 years of life of the Diva of Buena Vista Social Club and the centennial of the birth of the leading figure of ballet in the country, who have brought Cuban music and dance to international recognition with their indisputable talent, the Day is dedicated this 2020 to five decades since the character of Elpidio Valdés was created and to the 90th anniversary of plastic artist Alfredo Sosabravo.

Social networks will serve this time as a platform for most of the actions organized each year by the system of cultural institutions in commemoration of the date when the National Anthem was sung for the first time, on October 20, 1868, in Bayamo.

COVID-19 has marked a change of setting for these activities, but the enthusiasm to celebrate this important date is reflected on the Internet since the communication campaign for the Day began on the 5th under the hashtags #ConLaMismaEstrella, #LaTierraDeMisAmores and #ElMambí.