The thirty-sixth Boleros de Oro International Festival will kick off this Thursday in Havana until next Sunday, with a program dedicated to renowned Cuban performers.

Prensa Latina spoke exclusively with Ana Iris Blanco, from the executive secretariat of the Association of Musicians of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC), the sponsor of the event.

Blanco said that the relevant Cuban bolerista Mundito González is celebrating 60 years of artistic life, which is why a tribute to his trajectory will be part of the presentations.

Other activities will highlight the 50th and 60th careers of renowned voices of the genre such as María Elena Pena, Emilia Morales and Maureen Iznaga, as well as pianist and composer Alina Torres.

The director of Uneac and one of the singers who will also be on stage, said that performers with a wide and renowned career in the Cuban pentagram such as Héctor Téllez, Raquel Hernández, Yaima Sáez, Freddy Vera, Ernesto Roel and "the very musical" Beatriz Márquez, among others, will be presented to the public.

DEDICATIONS AND GALAS

He also said that this edition will resume its international character with the participation of guest artists from Colombia, Mexico, Spain, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Argentina.

The galas and presentations are scheduled for the National Theater of Cuba, whose Covarrubias Hall will be the main venue, and the America Theater, where four shows are programmed.

In addition, there is the Casa del Alba Cultural de La Habana, with presentations at the community level and the Hurón Azul space, at the headquarters of Uneac, which, for the occasion, is preparing an evening of boleros.

Blanco stressed that the festival will be dedicated to the first bolero, Tristeza, composed in 1883 by Santiago-born José "Pepe" Sánchez.

Also the 130th anniversary of Eusebio Delfín and the 110th anniversary of singer Esther Borja, and the respective centenaries of Cuban vedette Rosita Fornés (1923-2020) and Dominican Alberto Beltrán (1923-1997), known as "El negrito del Batey".

It will also pay tribute to Cuban singers Elena Burke (1928-2002) and Pacho Alonso (1928-1982), on the 95th anniversary of their births, and will also evoke the career of singer-songwriter Pablo Milanés, who will be 80 years old.

As a theoretical event, the Colloquium Boleros de Oro will be held at Uneac's Villena Hall, chaired by Alicia Valdés, author of the Diccionario de mujeres notables en la música cubana (Dictionary of Notable Women in Cuban Music).

There they will address all the research work about the dedications of the event and the evolution of bolero as a genre, said Blanco.