The Jazz Plaza 2025 Festival, in its 40th edition, opened its curtains yesterday, with the presence of 400 foreign artists and numerous Cuban musicians joining this musical festival.
With two concerts, at the National Theater of Cuba, and one at the Heredia Theater, in Santiago de Cuba, the Jazz Plaza 2025 Festival could not have had a better start.
At the Covarrubias Hall, the National Symphony Orchestra -this time conducted by composer, arranger and music producer Joaquín Betancourt, with Rolando Luna on piano as soloist- took us to unusual places from the synergies between jazz, popular dance music and Cuban and universal songwriting, demonstrating Joaquín's compositional maturity and Luna's mastery as a performer.
The invitation to musicians such as Barbarito Torres, Annys Batista, Carlos Sarduy, Yaroldi Abreu, Felipe Cabrera and Olvido Ruiz, who showed their talent in every appearance on stage, was praiseworthy. Then, at the Avellaneda Hall, another transcendental moment took place, when the 80th birthday of maestro Frank Fernandez, a fundamental figure of Cuban and world pianism, was celebrated with a cast integrated, among others, by Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, the National Choir of Cuba and Nachito Herrera, who, from their particular musical perspectives, have collaborated with the artist in dissimilar professional projects.
Meanwhile, another great concert was held at the Heredia Theater in Santiago de Cuba, this time by a constellation of musicians who have recently joined the Estrellas de Buena Vista project, which brings together, among others, figures such as Alejandro Falcón, Pancho Amat, Carlos Manuel Calunga and Osiris Valdés.
The Jazz Plaza Festival, which will be held until February 2 and includes Santa Clara for the first time as one of its venues, was created in 1980 and had among its founders the great musician Bobby Carcassés. It received early visits from masters such as Dizzy Gillespie or Max Roach, and has become one of the most relevant musical gatherings in the country.
In spite of complex circumstances, the Jazz Plaza managed to continue to consolidate itself as a necessary space for meeting and musical fraternity, and continues to this day with robust vitality.
The event, dedicated on this occasion to the 65th anniversary of Icaic, to maestro Frank Fernández and the orchestras Los Van Van and Irakere, is a magnificent example of institutional will, of how we have managed to promote the musical quality of our events, of the different levels of artistic education, and of the necessary visibility of our culture in these times in which, inevitably, we must continue to fight against many adversities.
