pic: @ClaudiaFumero
It is a fact. After months of confinement due to the COVID-19 pandemic and after being closed for a long period, the nightclubs of the capital of all Cubans are back. Many of them have taken advantage of the forced closure to make necessary repairs; an example of this is the Submarino Amarillo, located in Vedado. This guarantees that, as they return to their usual functions, all Cuban music fans will enjoy not only their favorite artists, but also an amazing environment. Another example of this is the Jazz Café, which restarted its concerts last November 18 with “Ruy López-Nussa y La Academia”. Then it was time for Orlando Valle (Maraca), Emilio Morales and Yasek Manzano. This rebirth is not exclusive to nightclubs: some theaters have also begun to fill with the best of Cuban music.
With or without a pandemic
The musicians who normally filled these venues to full capacity haven’t stop their creating work during this time. Many of them have offered several online concerts during these months. Others have taken advantage to make them fruitful, composing, recording and even releasing their 2020 record productions. Among them is Omara Portuondo with “Mariposas”, nominated for a Latin Grammy; the Miguel Faílde Orchestra with “Failde con tumbao” (Latin Grammy Award for the best Traditional Tropical Album) or “A song to the smile” by our Haila Mompie. But it is time for the music to start playing live. Sure, taking all the necessary precautions.
Enjoying responsibly
Of course, these areas are really risky in terms of contagion with COVID-19, so all the nightclubs in the country and especially in Havana have taken the necessary measures so that music lovers and dancers enjoy themselves responsibly. In addition to the necessary hygienic and sanitary measures that must always be observed in the new normality – mandatory use of the “nasobuco“, disinfection of hands with chlorine or hydrogel and maintaining a safe distance – nightclubs capacity has been limited. This, together with the measures that have been established for the detection of COVID-19 cases upon arrival in the country, has made it possible that, although gradually, live music returns to Havana on its 501st birthday.
What’s next
The Avellaneda room of the “Teatro Nacional” also dresses up on the 8th with a tribute concert to John Lennon. Under the name “40x30x20”, this concert will feature performances by artists such as Gerardo Alfonso, the Síntesis group, William Vivanco, David and Ernesto Blanco, Tracks, Gens, Pablo Menendez, Eddy Escobar and many others.
They will perform more than twenty songs composed by this member of the Beatles, but from the very particular perspective of Cuban music, which permeates a different and very peculiar air. Hosted by the promoter of rock in Cuba Juanito Camacho and produced by Carlos Alfonso and the journalist Guille Vilar, it is an amazing opportunity to relive music in this capital that, with or without a pandemic, refuses to stay in silence.
