Rumba from corner to corner from July 24th to 28th in Matanzas.
Theoretical sessions, percussion and folkloric dance classes, fairs, exchange spaces with community projects, competitions, in addition to an artistic program, will take place in Matanzas between today and July 28th, during the celebration of the first edition of Rumba King.
Theoretical sessions, percussion and folkloric dance classes, fairs, exchange spaces with community projects, competitions, as well as an artistic program, will take place in Matanzas between today and July 28th, during the celebration of the first edition of Rumba King.
The event aims at gathering and revering the best of rumba traditions as a cultural phenomenon, as well as its social repercussions, while highlighting contemporary issues, explains Annia Arboláez, Rumba King’s coordinator.
«Hence, its celebration coincides with July 25th, the Day of the Afro-descendant Woman, and different theoretical activities, with a more academic intention, and other more artistic ones, are planned for that date. Also, and I think this is the most important element, it is motivated by the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the socio-cultural project Por amor a mi raíz».
With these purposes will offer their art in Matanzas internationally renowned groups to which will be added others less known but whose artistic qualities in the interpretation of rumba precedes them.
«We will enjoy high quality concerts with top level artists, some with less fame than others, but all of them are rumberos and make a very well elaborated rumba, so socializing other groups that defend rumba to the audiences of Cuba and the world, is another of the missions we have.
«There will be Afrocuba, Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Rumba Timba, Los Reyes del Tambor, Columbia del Puerto, recently reopened, Rumberos de Mayabeque, Rumbatá, among others.»
The inauguration is scheduled for Wednesday, at 2:00 p.m., at the ACAA headquarters, which will give way to the offering drumming at the Parque de la Rueda Dentada and in the evening the presentation of Los Muñequitos de Matanzas at the Entre Puentes cultural center.
The 25th will begin with the panel «Women of the 21st Century. Demands and challenges for the historical women of color, at UNEAC. During the day, a conference workshop will be held in the AHS courtyard, while in the Velasco will be the folk dance workshop and will close with the presentation of several rumberas groups and the competitions of quinto and cajon for children and youth, in the cultural center Entre Puentes.
An exchange of experiences with community actors linked to the Por amor a mi raíz project and the staging of Marineras, historias de ti y de mí (Marineras, stories of you and me) at the Icarón theater will be held on the 26th, ending with a yambú, guaguancó and columbia competition, with performances by Afrocuba and Los Reyes del Tambor (The Kings of the Drum).
There will be a fair of enterprises and music and dance shows, on the 26th by Corcel de esperanza and on the 27th by Maravillas de la infancia, all on Medio Street.
On Saturday night, the awards ceremony and the performances of Los Matanceros and Rumbatá, from Camagüey, will take place, while the last day will feature the final rumba with the participation of Columbia del Puerto, to give way to the closing of the first edition of the Rumba King.
The variety of the program speaks of an event designed not only to enjoy the rumba complex, but also to learn and apprehend it, according to Arboláez.
«There will be lectures, percussion classes by Freddy Alfonso, the fifth of Los Muñequitos and folkloric dance taught by dancer Sandra Garcia, who already treasures more than 20 years of artistic career; we will develop space for fair and exchange with projects, competitions».
Rumba, declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016, becomes an essential element for the identity and tradition in Matanzas, as an expression of a spirit of resistance and an instrument of sociability that enriches the life of the communities that practice it.
