Cuban pianist Alejandro Falcón opens Boleros de Oro program

June 19, 2018

With a concert by Cuban pianist Alejandro Falcón, an extensive program of activities begins today in the context of the International Festival Boleros de Oro 2018.

The jazz musician and young talent Falcón will offer a gala performance at the theater of the capital's Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in tribute to the women cultivators of that genre and to Cuban musicologist Argeliers León.

The event will pay tribute to the maestro on the centennial of his birth, who was a composer, ethnologist and pedagogue, and also deserving of the title of doctor in art sciences.

The colloquium dedicated to this musician is called Argeliers León: the impact and relevance of his work and thought for contemporary Cuban musicology.

Within the context of this talk, the organizers will offer a discussion on the confluences of knowledge in bolero and León's imprint in that field.

Another of the themes to be addressed at the meeting will be the empowerment of women as a necessary link within music and the primordial connection of this to elevate bolero.

Among the countries invited to the important festival are Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Puerto Rico, as well as Japan and Canada, whose visitors will participate in a contest.

Other program content will revolve around the state of research on that musical genre and its transit through diverse geographies and contours.

The event will also honor Cuban interpreter Beatriz Márquez, known as La Musicalísima, for her fresh vocal timbre, her mezzo-soprano register, her popular 'descents' to low tones, as well as the unexpected 'ascents' to much higher registers and the style that defines her, very appropriate for song and bolero.

The International Festival Bolero de Oro will take place until June 24 at various venues in La Habana, among them, the emblematic theaters América and Nacional, as well as the Casa del Alba Cultural.