> Alvaro Figueroa is a Chilean musician. Arranger, composer and multi-instrumentalist, he has a career spanning more than 18 years in various musical styles.
His boundless generosity makes him a regular at all the salsa parties on the Côte d'Azur, from Marseille to Genoa, via Monaco and Cannes.
> Raul Paz
"I've never been afraid of being forgotten by the public. As a Cuban artist in France, I've been lucky enough to live an extraordinary life for 15 years: 10 albums and as many tours, hundreds of thousands of records sold, the Olympia in my name. What more can you hope for! Whether it lasts a day, 10 or 20 years, that's a bonus, not an obsession. On the contrary, in these days of social networking and excessive promiscuity, I sometimes don't want to be too visible, but the desire to communicate through music remains, and to reconnect with my public and all those who have supported me since my beginnings. I'll be eternally grateful to France, and to all the people who have supported me, because there are many people behind an artist's success.
One thought, however, was on my mind at the time: as a representative of the Cuban scene in Europe, I had never performed in Cuba. Nobody knew me there! Certain specialists in Cuban or world music would sometimes let me know! A migrant's life story...
Why did I return to Cuba? It's an easy question to ask, and almost impossible to answer, at least in all sincerity. Every Cuban knows this obsession: to leave, to stay or to return to this pirate island. Leonardo Padura can't stand being asked why he stays in Cuba. I often asked myself if I was doing the right thing by coming back. As soon as I arrived in Cuba, I immediately had the chance to meet the Cuban public. Within a few months, I was filling theaters and making my first tour of the island. It was an extraordinary time of encounters. I didn't feel that Cuban audiences were discovering me, but rather that they'd never forgotten me. I believe that going back to where you came from is a need we all have at some point in our lives. To come back to understand certain things... things left unresolved, familial or social, and personal, in order to give a more serene dimension to my own existence. To come full circle.
In the 10 years that followed, I released several records in Cuba, won prizes, produced music for films and TV series, produced young artists, wrote a book, but above all I reconnected with my roots, the traditions of the countryside, the music of my region, my naturalness. At the same time, I was awarded the Chevalier de l'ordre national du mérite medal, as if to remind me that France was never far away.
While I had long identified with Mario Vargas Llosa's Don Rigoberto, who was born, lived and wished to die in the archetypal big city, I moved to the Cuban countryside, where I was born, far from Havana, to develop a socio-cultural, ecological and community project. This return to nature, to the music of my region, to the way of doing things in the countryside, led to an encounter with an inner self that I'd never imagined existed, and which has helped me evolve as an artist by embracing my roots. It's this "guajira" inspiration that I'm sharing with you today in this new album, which I invite you to discover.
Refreshments and snacks
Special Latin American food truck with La Casita, La Pachamama, El Jefe.
Dancing area.
> Raul Paz
"I've never been afraid of being forgotten by the public. As a Cuban artist in France, I've been lucky enough to live an extraordinary life for 15 years: 10 albums and as many tours, hundreds of thousands of records sold, the Olympia in my name. What more can you hope for! Whether it lasts a day, 10 or 20 years, that's a bonus, not an obsession. On the contrary, in these days of social networking and excessive promiscuity, I sometimes don't want to be too visible, but the desire to communicate through music remains, and to reconnect with my public and all those who have supported me since my beginnings. I'll be eternally grateful to France, and to all the people who have supported me, because there are many people behind an artist's success.
One thought, however, was on my mind at the time: as a representative of the Cuban scene in Europe, I had never performed in Cuba. Nobody knew me there! Certain specialists in Cuban or world music would sometimes let me know! A migrant's life story...
Why did I return to Cuba? It's an easy question to ask, and almost impossible to answer, at least in all sincerity. Every Cuban knows this obsession: to leave, to stay or to return to this pirate island. Leonardo Padura can't stand being asked why he stays in Cuba. I often asked myself if I was doing the right thing by coming back. As soon as I arrived in Cuba, I immediately had the chance to meet the Cuban public. Within a few months, I was filling theaters and making my first tour of the island. It was an extraordinary time of encounters. I didn't feel that Cuban audiences were discovering me, but rather that they'd never forgotten me. I believe that going back to where you came from is a need we all have at some point in our lives. To come back to understand certain things... things left unresolved, familial or social, and personal, in order to give a more serene dimension to my own existence. To come full circle.
In the 10 years that followed, I released several records in Cuba, won prizes, produced music for films and TV series, produced young artists, wrote a book, but above all I reconnected with my roots, the traditions of the countryside, the music of my region, my naturalness. At the same time, I was awarded the Chevalier de l'ordre national du mérite medal, as if to remind me that France was never far away.
While I had long identified with Mario Vargas Llosa's Don Rigoberto, who was born, lived and wished to die in the archetypal big city, I moved to the Cuban countryside, where I was born, far from Havana, to develop a socio-cultural, ecological and community project. This return to nature, to the music of my region, to the way of doing things in the countryside, led to an encounter with an inner self that I'd never imagined existed, and which has helped me evolve as an artist by embracing my roots. It's this "guajira" inspiration that I'm sharing with you today in this new album, which I invite you to discover.
Refreshments and snacks
Special Latin American food truck with La Casita, La Pachamama, El Jefe.
Dancing area.
