# Cuban Trumpeter Arlen Borrego Wins Scholarship to Study in the USA

**Date:** 09/01/2025

Arlen Borrego Miranda, a young trumpeter from Pinar del Río, obtained the Warner Music Latina scholarship to study at Berklee College of Music, her dream of training at one of the most prestigious music schools in the world.


Originally from Mantua, she discovered her vocation by chance at age 10, when she passed the trumpet tests at the School of Art in Pinar del Río, despite having no musical background in her family.


"It's really something very big for me. Coming from where I come from and getting there is a super gratifying feeling," she told the press. Inspired by her teacher Janio Abreu, a Berklee alumnus, Arlen persevered after initially not obtaining a full scholarship.


She applied to the Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation and Warner Music, achieving financial support. "I'm super grateful to all those people who decided to give me this scholarship, and more committed to what I do," she stated.


Her goal is to stand out as a Cuban trumpeter and make women visible in this field, where there are no recognized international role models from Cuba. With experience in the Anacaona orchestra, Arlen hopes to enrich herself with the musical diversity of Berklee and share Cuban music.



Cuban Pianist David Virelles Receives One of the Guggenheim Fellowships






Recently, in April of this year, Cuban pianist and composer David Virelles won one of the Guggenheim Fellowships, according to an announcement by the New York-based Foundation. Virelles, 41 years old and originally from Santiago de Cuba, deserved this aid and award for artistic creation in Musical Composition, where the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded 14 fellowships.


It is one of "the most important due to the high level of demand on its candidates," according to music history specialist Rosa Marquetti, who defines Virelles as "one of our most talented pianists and composers."


Earlier, in 2024, another Cuban pianist, Aruán Ortiz (Santiago de Cuba, 1973), also received the Guggenheim Fellowship in Musical Composition. Ortiz is a composer whose works have been performed by jazz groups, classical orchestras, dance companies, and chamber music groups.