They will present in Colombia a record dedicated to Celina González

October 7, 2019

A new album titled Son del batey, in homage to Cuban countryside music singer Celina González, is being released today under the sponsorship of Colombian Gustavo Naranjo and the Casa del Caribe.

In statements to the press, the leading music producer of the Majo agency noted that his country continues to be a faithful admirer and follower of that sound tradition from the Cuban countryside, whose greatest exponents were Celina and her husband Reutilio.

Despite so much time having passed, he remarked, pieces such as Santa Bárbara bendita (O que viva Changó), San Lázaro or El punto cubano, among others, are still hummed and danced, having struck a chord with the popular taste of Colombians.

Naranjo indicated that on November 30 next, the album will be presented in Colombia and on that occasion the renowned interpreter, now deceased, will be remembered through the authentic and very similar guajira voice of the Santiago native María Victoria Segura.

The cities of Bogotá and Medellín will be the main venues where the phonogram will be unveiled and the performance of the Son del batey group will be enjoyed.

Naranjo highlighted the recording of the album at Siboney Studios, of the Empresa de Grabaciones y Ediciones Musicales, with a high professional level of the musicians in the collective and the technicians of that Santiago-based record subsidiary which began its campaign for its 40th anniversary these days.

He alluded to the prospect of continuing this joint work, which he undertook after discovering Son del batey at a guateque at the Casa del Caribe, with endeavors that reflect the work of the Matamoros trio, with their voices and guitars that took Cuban music around the world.

The liner notes to the 12 songs on the album, in which the son montuno style predominates, are by writer Manuel Gómez, who highlights the virtues of Son del batey, a tribute made with spontaneous and fresh humility.