Yenisel Valdés goes from vanvanera to member of the new project of the great Chucho Valdés

November 2, 2021

In 2017, when Yenisel Valdés Fuentes, known in Cuba and abroad as "Yeny, from Los Van Van", left that celebrated group, much of the audience in the largest of the Antilles felt her departure.

After 16 years, during which she popularized or relaunched songs such as Este amor que se muere, Mi Mimi, Tú a lo tuyo y yo a lo mío, La moda, Soy la mujer que quiero ser, or Un año después, love was the main reason for the singer to "step off" the Cuban music Train.

Some time ago, she had married Cuban dancer, percussionist and singer Erick Barbería, and settled with him in California, United States, where she currently also shares life with her children Kalyani, Elani and Diego, the latter being the result of her relationship with comedian Diego Álvarez (Cortico).

"The girls are his and my Diego, but we usually don't dwell on that, as we love all three equally," she said in early 2021.

Of all the songs she performed with Van Van, this Pinar del Río native has said that Después de todo is her favorite. "It's a song that I have much to be grateful for."

Despite being four years away from the place where she was also the lead voice of the renowned NG La Banda, Yeny has been able to maintain her connection with music, that way of life that has led her to constantly grow as an artist and person. In that same 2017, she and her husband performed several presentations in Miami as special guests of the Timbalive project.

At the beginning of this year, Valdés told through a post on her Facebook profile that she was working with her partner on creating songs for a duet album.

However, beyond that project, which we will surely hear more about in the future, not long ago, all of us who admire Yeny received the good news that Chucho Valdés himself has included her and her husband in the lineup of La Orquesta Yoruba, an ensemble that will accompany him in the show La Creación, with which he will celebrate his 80 years of life, an age he reached last October 9.

On his official pages on social networks, when announcing his welcome, the legendary pianist and composer of Irakere referred to her as "a Cuban of these times, optimistic, faithful, smiling, fortunate. Her great passion is music, her son, her husband, family and her religion".

Furthermore, the master, author of Bacalao con pan, Misa Negra and Concierto para metales, added: "the greatest recognition for Yeny is to make dance on any stage in the world all those who identify with her music, especially Cubans, regardless of where they are".

Regarding Barbería, Chucho has emphasized, above all, his expressive dancing, his melodious voice and his improvisation skills, as three factors that make him a unique artist.

"Erick is influenced by his roots and has inevitably been inspired by the contagious traditions of carnivals, festivals and street rumba. But more than this, Erick has been influenced by his humble family. His father, Luis Barberia, current singer of the famous Jorrín orchestra, creator of the Cha-Cha-chá rhythm, is one of his greatest inspirations", complemented the descendant of the great Bebo Valdés in a post from October 22.

John Beasley, keyboardist, conductor and co-arranger of La Creación, has described this piece on his web as "an epic work that narrates the emergence of Yoruba culture in the Caribbean. Extravagant and vibrant, this Afro-Cuban oratorio is preceded by a solo concert with Valdés at the piano".

The orchestra will meet with Chucho for its debut on November 5 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States.

"This new work represents the accumulation of all my experiences and everything I have learned in music. It is a moment of full maturity, personally and musically, and I feel prepared to do this work," were Valdés' words for the official page of that Florida cultural center, after which he added: "I believe it is my masterpiece, so far".

As it is described, it is a suite in three movements that pays tribute to the Yoruba god Olodumare and explores the creation myth, based on the so-called Regla de Ocha, a religion of Lucumí origin, commonly known as Santería.

After this presentation, it will be back on November 17 in the Grand Hall of the Auditorium National in Lyon, France. There, in addition to Yeny (vocals) and Erick (smaller batá and vocals), will be Hilario Durán (arrangements and keyboards), Yunior Terry (bass), Miguel Valdés and Roberto Vizcaíno Jr. (percussion), Román Díaz and Diosvany Valladares (batá drums), Felipe Sarría and Yosvany González (batá and vocals) Dafnis Prieto (drums), José A. Gola (double bass and electric bass), Étienne Charles (trumpet), Brian Lynch (smaller trumpet), Marcus Strickland (alto saxophone) and Carlos Fernández (Averhoff Jr.; tenor saxophone), as well as an Afro-Cuban choir.

After this session, the show will continue in French territory, but will move to Paris, where it can be enjoyed on November 20 in the Grand Pierre Boulez Hall, home of the Philharmonic of that city, and three days later it will be in the Concert Hall of the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Spain, as part of the International Jazz Festival of that city.