The Habaneras and Sea Music Festival "Braulio de León", created on the initiative of the Casa de la Cultura Agustín de la Hoz in 1989, has been a giant step towards the recovery of this tradition with a port flavor.
The edition held on Wednesday night, as part of the San Ginés festivities, began with the performance of the members of the Arrecife Choirs and Dances Group, who set aside their repertoire of isas, folias and seguidillas and, as in previous years, collaborated so that the festival continues to be held without losing an iota of the content for which it was created.
After months of rehearsals and reviewing scores, they took to the stage with a varied range of compositions, beginning their performance with the habanera Salió de Jamaica, continuing with La Bella Lola, Chiquilla Mía, Aires Marineros and a medley dedicated to Amigos de Portonao, to which the public also joined in singing the choruses and rewarding the group with their applause. Santiago Torres, director of the group, thanked the public for their welcome and pledged to continue working so that the Braulio de León Habaneras and Sea Music Festival does not disappear.
Secondly, the Hispanic-Cuban composer, troubadour and singer Liuba María Hevia took to the stage, an elegant, delicate and harmonious voice embraced by her guitar and accompanied by the musician Julián Olivares. Hevia chose a repertoire where the habanera was the protagonist, with themes such as Mariposita, La Presa, El Expatriado and Veinte Años, which she also intertwined with some of the songs she carries in the show "Tantas Vidas", with which she is touring several countries.
The artist arrived and conquered, telling each of the stories that she turned into song. Liuba María is part of the "La Nueva Trova" movement, along with legendary figures such as Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés, with whom she has shared record works. After her performance, she came down from the stage very happy with the response from the public, who at all times rewarded each of her songs with applause.