An Outpouring of Cuban Spirit at the International Encounter «Sonora Matancera: Legend and Heritage» (+photos)

The First International Encounter «Sonora Matancera: Legend and Heritage» awakened remembrance of its founders and motivated a warm exchange between Cubans and Latin Americans present at the gathering, sponsored over two days by the Office of the City Historian of Matanzas.

The welcome was offered by the Deputy Director of Culture and Heritage, Regla Cárdenas Isasi, who urged attendees to enjoy this important part of our history and gave the floor to the President of the Organizing Committee, M.Sc. Leonel Pérez Orozco, City Historian.

Once at the theater, a greeting was heard from the Cultural Corporation Club Sonora Matancera of Medellín, delivered by Arturo Yañez Vergara, a Mexican representative together with Colombian Carlos Velasco Díaz, who thanked being part of this event that remembers musicians who enchanted Latin America with their melodies and savory rhythms.

Researcher Juan Francisco González indicated that this gathering was necessary, as it also highlights the musical legacy of the centenary Sonora Lira Matancera in the rescue of Yumurino heritage.

A moment of tribute was dedicated to Cristóbal Díaz Ayala, Cuban musicographer and collector, in which Cárdenas Isasi outlined his transcendent career within the artistic universe.

Various donations were made of digital and printed record collections referring to the Sonora, from 1960 to the present, with which many Latin Americans learned to dance, as Mexican José Luis Díaz Solache said.

Exciting was the world premiere of the «Sonora Juvenil» Project, a group of students from the Matanzas Professional Art School, directed by maestro Bruno Villalonga, who performed more than ten classics, including «Piel canela,» «El negrito del batey,» and «El yerberito.»

Equally gratifying was when our emeritus artist Anneris Cánovas, founder of Las Anacaonas, joined the celebration and sang the famous composition «Siguaraya» with the young musicians.

Next, the exhibition «La Sonora en el Tiempo» was inaugurated, a collection owned by the City Historian, accumulated since his youth.

The centenary phonograph of the Sonora’s first director and tres player, Valentín Cané, was exhibited. It played vinyl recordings of the pieces «Cualquiera resbala y cae» and Daniel Santos singing «Te enteraste ya,» to the amazement of attendees.

As the day’s closing event, the videoconference «50 Years of History» was presented through the virtual presence of Jorge Gómez Gallego, a founding member of the Cultural Corporation Club Sonora Matancera of Medellín.