CAMAGÜEY.- The presentation of the first three albums recorded at the Caonao Recording Studio in this city characterizes the current edition of the Sound of Camagüey, an event promoted by Manolito Simonet within the Culture Week.
The epidemiological situation due to the pandemic led to conceiving a version with performances different from the usual mega-concert that in other years has encouraged dancers with various Cuban popular music orchestras.
At a press conference, the musical production Estrellas de Caonao (Vol.I) was presented, from the Recording and Musical Editions Company (EGREM), to which this Studio has been linked since its operation two years ago.
It contains 11 songs composed or performed by singers from the province, among them, Strange Look, by Papito García Grasa, defended as a tribute by the soloist Liudmila Pardillo, who also shared it in that morning.
“There is a discography in Camagüey that is going to transcend internationally”, highlighted Manolito Simonet, arranger and producer also of Mi rumba no va a parar, Rumbatá's fourth album; and Manolito Simonet presents Simón Roberto, both licensed by the Cuban house Bis Music.
He thanked the authorities who supported his idea of the Caonao Recording Studio, especially Jorge Luis Tapia Fonseca, then the highest political authority in Camagüey, and Isabel González, head of government power.
Manolito Simonet applauded the initiative of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and its Music Center to assume the rental of recording shifts, but pointed out that no project should be carried out without a music producer.
Musicologist Heidy Cepero Recoder, author of the notes for Estrellas de Caonao and Mi rumba no va a parar, and head of the recording studio, praised Manolito's vision because "he has achieved that each production has its own particular stamp, and that all of them are a great work”.
The concerts to promote each album will be in this order: Rumbatá on Sunday, February 6 at 4:00 p.m. in the House of Trova; Caonao Stars on the 7th at 4:00 p.m. in the Alkázar Cultural Complex; and Simón Roberto on the 8th at 10:00 a.m. at the headquarters of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac).
Heidy Cepero specified that they will sell physical copies of the Estrellas de Caonao album, for the price of 100 Cuban pesos; although they can also be purchased through digital platforms such as Sandunga and paid for in the Zone.
The closing concert associated with the Sound of Camagüey is announced for Monday the 7th from 10:00 p.m. at the Fairgrounds, where Manolito Simonet will play with his Trabuco, and the orchestra of Adalberto Álvarez, a recently deceased musician to whom the Culture Week has been dedicated, assured Tamira González, provincial director of Culture.
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez