Archdiocese of Havana, Cathedral, November 19, 2019: A musical tour through five centuries of art in the capital city was the proposal of the Cultural Gala organized by the Chair of Sacred Music of the Félix Varela Cultural Center and presented at the S.M.I. Havana Cathedral on the night of last November 17.
At the invitation of the Church to give a high musical proposal to the Havana town in its half millennium, outstanding artists responded, among them, José María Vitier, Ernán López-Nussa, the soprano Milagros de los Ángeles Castillo, the choirs Schola Cantorum Coralina , Vocal Leo and Exaudi. They were joined by the Lyceum Orchestra of Havana, the National Concert Band, the sudden Yenisleydi González García and Luis Paz Esquivel, as well as dancers of the Irene Rodríguez Company and of Contemporary Dance of Cuba.
With the interpretation of the Bayamo Hymn and the compound to San Cristóbal, the walk for the best of Havana art began, with important stops that included the interpretation, as a premiere, of a Te Deum composed by Esteban Salas and transcribed centuries later by the musicologist Miriam Escudero and the choreographic representation of Nicolás Guillén’s poem “Balada de los dos granduelos”, with choreography by teacher Irene Rodríguez.
The tour covered several exponents of music such as Havana, the tenth peasant and the zarzuela, in some cases accompanied by dancers who embodied on stage the essence of genres such as zapateo and the poetic trapped in the “Adiós a Cuba”, by Ignacio Cervantes, with the piano performance of Marcos Madrigal.
To the talent of the invited artists was added the freshness of the Escolanías of the Archdiocese of Havana and San Juan de Letrán, and the professionalism, already exhibited, of the inter-community choir of the diocese, under the direction of Ada Rabelo.
In his words, Cardinal Archbishop Juan de la Caridad García agreed to incorporate music into everyday life, so that fighting, anguish, and family and social life are more harmonious, more comfortable and enjoyable. For the great gifts that Havana has given to its inhabitants in five hundred years of history, he asked everyone to answer as the psalmist: “Give Thanks to the Lord because He is good.”
It was a beautiful gala that sang to the city, its Patron and the Virgin of Charity of Copper, whose image imposed its presence accompanied by a great choir of voices that received it with the song “Virgin Mambisa”.
The general direction of the show corresponded to the presbyter Yosvany Carvajal Sureda, the production and musical direction was in charge of the organist teacher Moisés Santiesteban, who also directs the Chair of Sacred Music of the Father Félix Varela Cultural Center.
Sing to Havana in its half millennium
