NEW YORK — The annual Harlem/Havana Music and Cultural Festival – one of the visible, ongoing benefits of the normalizing of relations between the U.S. and Cuba four years ago – continues this year with sounds, sights, tastes and experiences that warmly share the Caribbean nation with New Yorkers.
Long before the renewal of ties between the countries in 2014, civic leaders and organizations – particularly Rep. Charles Rangel and The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce – had begun planning a week-long festival highlighting an exchange of music, dance, art, fashion, education, and cuisine.
Despite the current administration’s lack of enthusiastic encouragement, the festival, now in its third year, has continued to gain momentum, flavor and fervor, and this year’s lineup of Afro-Cuban jazz, dance performances, workshops, authentic Cuba cuisine, and art exhibits are indicative of the increasing popularity of this celebration.
The festival began this year on July 18 with a kick-off reception for Harlem Week at Gracie Mansion. Chino Pons y Grupo Irek, an internationally renowned Cuban musician based in New York, provided music for the event. On Aug. 4, the festival shifted into high gear at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine with Oyu Oro, an Afro-Cuban Experimental Dance Ensemble from Santiago, Cuba. Under the direction of its founder, Danys (La Mora) Perez, the group specializes in preserving and perpetuating the nation’s Afro-Cuban folklore, especially the music and dances derived from West African cultures. The ensemble’s dance workshop, which will take place along with the Dance Theater of Harlem, will be soon be announced.
“Each year the Harlem/Havana Music and Cultural Festival builds on the success of the past, reaching new plateaus of accomplishments,” said renowned bandleader and musician Ray Chew, who serves as the musical producer/director of Harlem Week. “And this year is no different, and as always, we expect a growing number of spectators and admirers from here and abroad.”
The festival is much more than music. The International Art and Photography Exhibit debuted on Monday and will run through Sept. 29 at the spacious Mural Pavilion of Harlem Hospital Center. As in the past, the paintings and other art works on display come from the combined resources of the Center for Cuban Studies, the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance, and Community Works, This year, selected works from the Weusi Collection, celebrating its 60th anniversary, will be showcased, under the leadership of Ademola Olugebefola.
Two exciting events will occur on Aug. 16 and Aug. 18 along Harlem’s 135th St. – at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, featuring the Harlem/Havana Afro Jazz Concert; and at the St. Nicholas Stage where the Uptown Saturday Concert is always a well-attended and colorful blend of exuberance from community residents, New Yorkers and international guests. This year’s concert will feature singer Eric Benet, and attendees will again be entertained by the Oyu Oro Ensemble.
Toward the close of the festivities on Harlem Day on Sunday, Aug. 19 – the biggest day of Harlem Week – Dayramir Gonzalez, an internationally acclaimed pianist and composer, will lead his band of phenomenal musicians through a smorgasbord of rapturous sound at the Fifth Avenue Stage. Gonzalez, who was born in Havana and is now based in New York, and his ensemble are widely heralded for their enticing, expressive music that stretches across the diaspora with Afro-Cuban styles to jazz, pop and hip hop.
There are always a number of pleasant surprises at the festival, including a host of notables as well as entertainers, many of whom will be invited to share their talents with audiences.
But there’s more than an abundance of dazzling dancers and versatile musicians; no Harlem/Havana jamboree would be complete without a scrumptious array of food, particularly those spicy delights from Cuba. Save your appetite for the Harlem Restaurant Week Culinary Initiative, which will take place from Aug. 21 through Aug. 26. It will be led by the gregarious chef Marcus Samuelsson, owner of the Red Rooster Harlem; Melba Wilson, owner of Melba’s; Matthew Trebek, owner of OSO; the Woods family, owners of Sylvia’s, and a dozen restaurants and bakeries. The result will be a lavish spread of international food – and bonhomie.