Faith in the Party

6 April 2009 — We had waited two years to throw a party for Havana Cultura, so there was a lot of pent-up celebrating taking place the other night in Havana’s Museo de Bellas Artes. We celebrated the existence of Havana Cultura, the preeminent webzine covering the arts and the artists at work in the Cuban capital today. We celebrated with Mojitos, Daiquiris and Cuba Libres made with Havana Club, "the Rum of Cuba," the instigator of Havana Cultura. And we celebrated in the company of many of the fine artists appearing or soon to be appearing on the Havana Cultura site. Among them were choreographers Miguel Iglesias and Juan Miguel Más; filmmakers Pavel Giroud, Juan-Carlos Tabio and Iskander; musicians DJ Wichy de Vedado, Roberto Fonseca, Obsesión (Alexey Rodríguez Mola and Magia Lopez) and Ogguere (Edrey and Ulises); and — with the Havana Biennial happening concurrently — we saw artists Yoan Capote, Duvier del Dago, René Francisco, José Emilio Fuentes Fonseca (JEFF), Glenda León, Nelson Ponce and Nadia Porras.

"We all know each other but we never mix together in the same glass," said René Peña. The evening’s entertainment built on the theme of heterogeneity, beginning with a performance by Danza Contemporánea de Cuba and followed by a concert featuring jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca, rap duo Ogguere and soul singer Diana Fuentes — all sharing the same stage. The show ended with Edrey from Ogguere rapping the "voulez-vous coucher" refrain from "Lady Marmalade" to Fuentes, who turned it into a soulful duet while Fonseca improvised a piano line that pulled it all together.