Havana, Apr 20 (Prensa Latina) Cuban dancer and choreographer Alfredo O’Farrill Pacheco received on Saturday the National Dance 2024 Award. After having evaluated the trajectory of the eight nominees, the jury decided unanimously to award the prize to O’Farrill Pacheco, a figure of folkloric dance, artistically alias Papa Shango.

Along with O’Farrill Pacheco, Luz Maria Collazo Reyes, Bertha Armiñan Linares, Viengsay Valdes Herrera, Lilliam Padron Chavez, Regina M. Balaguer Sanchez, Maricel Godoy and Andres Gutierrez had been nominated for the award.

According to the tribunal’s minutes, the exemplary trajectory of the nominated creators was recognized, as they are artists with an imprint on National Culture.

O’Farrill Pacheco came to dance after participating in the Literacy Campaign, and belonged to the amateur The New Theater of Dancing group sponsored by the “Conjunto Folklorico Nacional” – National Folkloric Group, according to the document.

The awarded reached the category of first dancer in that company, in which he remained for 30 years and shared the stage with Johannes Garcia, Santiago Alfonso and other beloved personalities of folkloric dance.

He is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the President of the National Council of the Performing Arts, the International Dance Council and the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba.

For his outstanding work, O’Farrill Pacheco has received several awards and recognitions in Cuba and other countries around the world, among them, the Medal for Literacy (1981) and the Distinction of Solidarity with the people of Ghana (1982).

Italy’s recognition as Ambassador of Cuban Culture (1989), the Raul Gomez Garcia Medal (1989), the Distinction for National Culture (1989), the Order for National Culture of Zaire (1989) and the Diploma for Pedagogical Merit (2014) complement his catalog of awards.

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Havana, Apr 18 (Prensa Latina) Cuban singer and composer Indy Fontaine, who lives in the United States, will offer a concert at the Theater Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana to promote her debut album Moments of My Life.

In declarations to the press, the artist expressed that the idea of the concert, organized by Bis Music, arose as a result of the launching of this phonogram, to promote and exhibit her art in the land where she was born.

I am especially grateful to José Manuel García, who has worked very hard to make this concert possible, to the musical director Carlos Ernesto Varona and my friend and collaborator Leo Guerra,” she said.

Starting at 7:00 p.m. local time, the audience will enjoy songs from the new phonogram, with very varied proposals, and other surprises that the performer has in store, including musicals and visuals.

Indy Fontaine is a singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist (piano, flute and saxophone). Her first album was released on January 8, 2024 and is a collection of 11 songs, in English and Spanish, in the genres of Adult Contemporary, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, Indie Pop, Indie Rock and R&B.

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Beijing, April 20 (Prensa Latina) Children and young people from China and Cuba today celebrated the special friendship between the two countries, with a cultural day that became a bridge of communication and mutual understanding.

At the diplomatic headquarters of the Caribbean country here, around 150 children greeted the 62nd and 63rd anniversaries of the Union of Young Communists of Cuba and the José Martí Pioneers Organization, respectively, as well as the 102nd birthday of the Communist Youth League from China.

From flute, violin and lute solos to sung poems, the musical performances starred in an activity in which the little ones also carried out a parade with costumes representative of the different sectors of Cuban society.

Students and teachers from the Cuba-China Friendship School and various cultural projects in Beijing participated in the event.

Lian Si, vice chancellor of the Central School of the Communist Youth League of China, said youth diplomacy is an important part of bilateral relations and “the root and soul of the special friendship between the two countries.”

Likewise, he advocated for greater exchange between young people so that they can be the new generation of representatives of this link between the two nations and make significant contributions to the promotion of mutual understanding between peoples.

This activity occurred in the midst of China’s demonstrations of solidarity towards the largest of the Antilles with the sending of donations of rice and other products.

In addition, official sources also confirmed today that Cubans from the diplomatic representation and the community residing in the Asian giant made a donation of medical supplies to the island.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has referred to the two countries as “good friends, good companions and good brothers.”

Recently, the Foreign Ministry of the Asian giant ratified its support to the Cuban authorities in their efforts to improve the living conditions of the Cuban people.

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Havana, Apr 17 (Prensa Latina) The ballet company directed Cuban dancer and choreographer Carlos Acosta has mourned the death on Wednesday of ballet Maitre Ramona de Saá Bello, a notable figure in ballet pedagogy in the contemporary world.

On Facebook, Acosta Dance expressed its feelings for the death of Saá Bello, one of the foremost names of Cuban ballet.

The Master has died, her work is in the blood that beats in the best of the national ballet in the last 50 years, the company of the renowned dancer noted.

For Carlos Acosta, Saá will always be an essential part of his professional and human education. Hence, he revealed that she was like his second mother.

Saá Bello was one of the most outstanding personalities of contemporary dance pedagogy in the contemporary world, internationally recognized and forger of the current teaching system in Cuba.

Her work as an educator was directly related to the artistic training of Cuban dancers of international fame.

Since February 2017, the main rehearsal hall of the Acosta Danza Company bears her name.

Our heartfelt condolences to her family and friends, and for all lovers of the art of ballet, the comments by the company Carlos Acosta’s company concluded.

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