Cuban choral ensemble Orfeón Santiago won first prize at the International Choral Festival and Competition 2020.

Orfeón Santiago, directed by maestra Sonia Ivette García Colombat, performed the tune Mambo number 5, composed by renowned Cuban musician Dámaso Pérez Prado.

Organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the International Choral Festival and Competition 2020 was held virtually due to the global epidemiological crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

With support from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, the University of Vienna, the Yale School of Music, the Latvian Academy of Music, the Belarusian State Academy of Music and the India National Youth Orchestra and Chorus, some 40 choirs and choral groups from around the world participated, sharing and showcasing their rich cultural choral heritage through a virtual choral concert.

The competition was adjudicated by a team of highly accomplished experts from around the world.

Founded in 1960 in eastern Santiago de Cuba by maestro Electo Silva, Orfeón Santiago is devoted to the development and promotion of choral music in Cuba.